Much has been made of the fact that no-one in Valkyrie speaks with a German accent. While the opening of the film has Tom Cruise vocalising a letter he’s writing in German, that’s about as far as it goes. From what I’ve read, it was a decision made by the cirector Bryan Singer presumably to ward off any media focus on Tom Cruise’s ability to do a credible accent. Given the fact that comedians and critics alike still reference Kevin Costner’s inability to master an English accent for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves back in the nineties, he may have had a point. Unfortunately, it is actually distracting given the mixture of accents in the film, which is really a shame as the film itself is a fine effort.
There’s a difficult line that historical films have to tread when the outcome of the events are well known in history. It’s pretty obvious to anyone with a basic grasp of history that the plot to kill Hitler failed. Therefore the filmmakers must find a way to evoke tension without relying on the “will they pull it off” scenario. In Valkyrie Singer manages to derive the tension from demonstrating just how close the conspirators got. There are moments late in the film where I found myself almost wondering whether the film would use dramatic license to show an alternate “what might have been” history.
There’s a stellar cast in action here, but this almost serves to handicap the film, as expectations bred from such an ensemble aren’t really met here. Overall Valkyrie is a competent if unspectacular film. I was surprised to hear that this was in the works as last I’d heard Bryan Singer was supposed to be directing a remake of Logan’s Run after he wrapped up Superman Returns. With a bit of luck his next project will be something that gives him a bit more room to move than the strictures of the historical drama/thriller of Valkyrie.
A solid effort, but not one that I’ll be rushing to buy on DVD. Seven M&Ms out of ten.
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