Setting the scene for one of the most audacious events in global history, the opening gambit of Brian Singer’s account of the assassination attempt of Adolf Hitler during World War II is all about Tom Cruise, who has bagged the role of Colonel von Stauffenberg, the man with the plan. In a strange way, Cruise manages to portray the very German von Stauffenberg as the archetypal All-American hero that he has come to represent, in cinematic stakes at least. In Hitler, there is a common enemy for cinema audiences to rage against and who better to take up the mantle than Cruise. Then the always-brilliant Bernard Hill takes to the screen and seconds later all hell breaks loose, culminating in British fighter pilots administering the wounds and eye patch that von Stauffenberg is now famous for. Oddly, now that the audience knows the plans he has in store for Hitler, these events elicit an odd sense of sorrow for Cruise, despite the fact that our boys have just got one up on the Third Reich. This is a cracking opening salvo for Singer’s movie and I, for one, cannot wait to see more when it’s released later this month. Its US reviews have been better than expeceted too, which helps. 13 January 2009
title: “Valkyrie First 6 Minutes Trailer Review” ShowToc: true date: “2025-08-02” author: “Ray Fisher”
Setting the scene for one of the most audacious events in global history, the opening gambit of Brian Singer’s account of the assassination attempt of Adolf Hitler during World War II is all about Tom Cruise, who has bagged the role of Colonel von Stauffenberg, the man with the plan. In a strange way, Cruise manages to portray the very German von Stauffenberg as the archetypal All-American hero that he has come to represent, in cinematic stakes at least. In Hitler, there is a common enemy for cinema audiences to rage against and who better to take up the mantle than Cruise. Then the always-brilliant Bernard Hill takes to the screen and seconds later all hell breaks loose, culminating in British fighter pilots administering the wounds and eye patch that von Stauffenberg is now famous for. Oddly, now that the audience knows the plans he has in store for Hitler, these events elicit an odd sense of sorrow for Cruise, despite the fact that our boys have just got one up on the Third Reich. This is a cracking opening salvo for Singer’s movie and I, for one, cannot wait to see more when it’s released later this month. Its US reviews have been better than expeceted too, which helps. 13 January 2009
