Hey folks, Harry here - about a week ago a fella called me up, industry type - not directly related to the film - told me, "I'm gonna burn in hell. I just saw VALKYRIE, I'm a Jew and I cried for a nazi, I'm going to burn in Hell!" The fella went on and on about the film - about Ottman's great score - about how it was incredibly thrilling - and he got me excited. It sounded like they were getting ready for a test screening, so I've been expecting some feedback - and this fella seems very enthused about the film. Drawing comparisons to SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Based on the script and the cast and the talent involved - expect this movie to kick a lot of ass. Here ya go...
Hiya Harry and gang- I haven't sent in a review in a while (the last review I sent into you guys was Spiderman 3), because I moved and other reasons. I'm living in Henderson, NV these days, and got into a test screening tonight, without knowing what movie it was until we were sitting in our seats. That surprise element was cool, because the movie itself was something I didn't expect. The screening was at the Green Valley 10, where I've seen TDK three times now, and me and my friends tried to guess what we would be seeing, but none of us guessed right. Then the NRG guy told us we’d be seeing… VALKYRIE! Yeah, I've read a lot of bad shit about this movie, delays and whatnot, and we figured we were in for a trainwreck. The verdict? The truth is it’s pretty great. At over two hours, it's a little on the long side, but compelling and serious as fuck. I don't know if I've ever seen a movie about a 'righteous coup' like this- if I could compare it to anything it would be Saving Private Ryan- about a small group of people trying to something impossible. Other than the length, it's got some problems. Here are the negatives right off the bat- I was confused in the beginning about who was who and how they'd play into the plot- but it comes together pretty quickly. It was also confusing if they were Nazis or not, but at some point in the movie, you find out they're in the German Army Reserves, which is not the same as Hitler's SS army but still had to swear an oath to the Fuhrer. Once I realized that, it made a lot more sense. Another part that’s questionable is the first scene where you meet Tom Cruise's character in North Africa, which almost seems a little out of place. Also, I read somewhere that they didn’t try for German accents, and I actually think it worked out better that way. If you’re gonna be purist about it, they’d be speaking German, not with German accents so why bother. So, onto the review, there are spoilers aplenty since the events are true and right there on Wiki. But I stopped short of the final act. Valkyrie is about a group of Germans who are secretly trying to overthrow Hitler and the Third Reich. The movie starts with Kenneth Branagh and Bill Nighy, whose attempt to blow up Hitler’s plane fails and almost gets them caught. You then find out they're part of a group that hate what Hitler's doing to their country. Their problem is they're plans aren't bold or organized enough, and Hitler's grip on Germany is absolute. Then it's off to North Africa, where we meet Stauffenberg, Tom Cruise's character, who has doubts about the war- a dangerous thing to have under Hitler. He’s almost killed when his unit is strafed by Allied planes, and loses a hand (CGI'd out for the rest of the movie), two fingers on his other hand, and an eye (hence the eye-patch) in the attack. He gets a glass eye that he only wears sometimes, but carries around with him like a talisman. Finally coming home, and seeing his kids playing war-games to Flight of the Valkyries (a nice touch), he realizes that the disease of Hitler's propaganda has even infected his children and this is the final straw that makes him decide to join the resistance. At their secret meeting, we meet a Terence Stamp as a German general who resigned in protest to Hitler. Stauffenberg is more strategic and aggressive than the rest of them. He wants to assassinate Hitler at his bunker, the Wolf's Lair, and take over Berlin immediately and declare martial law as a pretext for arresting all the Nazis. He brings an explosives expert onto the team to show them how to rig plastique explosives that will fill the entire bunker with fire. It's a bold operation, but these guys are just making it up as they go. None of them know if they have any chance- they're on edge the whole time, but pretending everything’s cool. Tom Cruise and Bill Nighy especially show the mixed emotions of fear and determination of these guys. Stauffenberg's plan is to change Hitler's Operation Valkyrie- the order that keeps the Nazi government in place in the event of an Allied invasion. In Stauffenberg's version, once Hitler is dead, the German Reserves take control of Berlin district by district. But to change the Valkyrie order, he has to get Hitler’s signature, and to get to Hitler, he has to go through Tom Wilkinson, a slightly slimy general who will join whatever side is winning. He doesn't join the conspiracy but doesn't blow the whistle either. He's hedging his bets in case the coup happens. Meanwhile, Kenneth Branagh gets transferred to the front, and Stauffenberg gets promoted, giving him his chance to get into Hitler's inner circle. Now he's pretty much the leader of resistance. I think one of the best scenes in the movie is when Stauffenberg goes to meet the Fuhrer at his mansion in the mountains. This is an inside look from a different view- there's something so grotesque about the casual afternoon among Himmler, Goering, and the other Nazi elite. The stakes are real, and everyone will die if their plan is found out. Even though Hitler is a cameo in the movie, his presence hangs over these characters and this film like a shroud. Everything about this section is first rate (the location was like Castle Wolfenstein but real), and the actor playing Hitler is just madness incarnate. Tom Cruise is subtle and very real in these scenes, bringing a lot of complexity. Hitler sees Stauffenberg as a war hero, willing to sacrifice himself for the Reich, and signs the new Operation Valkyrie order without reading it. Then, when Hitler calls a meeting that Stauffenberg is to attend, the plot is in motion. The Wolf’s Lair is heavily fortified, in the middle of a dense forest, with checkpoints and Nazis in trenches all along the way. Stauffenberg gets into the room with the other Reich officers, places the loaded briefcase under the table- but misses his chance because the others back in Berlin wouldn’t give the order since Himmler wasn’t there. Stauffenberg is, needless to say, pissed. Meanwhile, Bill Nighy has done his part and mustered the Reserves as if Berlin is being attacked. When it’s called off, all the commanding officers are disgusted that it was just a drill. These scenes are very well done, with little scenes about some of the figures, down to the telegraph operators, who just transmit commands at first, but at some point will have to pick a side. Stauffenberg finally gets another chance at Hitler when another meeting is called, and is determined that no one fuck it up this time. But when he gets to the Wolf’s Lair, he finds out that the meeting has been moved out of the bunker to another building with open windows- which will prevent the vacuum effect that would wipe out everyone in the room. Everything else goes like clockwork. He gets the briefcase in place right under Hitlers nose, gets called out of the room, and is out of there. As he looks back and sees the explosion, he believes he has done it. There’s no turning back- this is the beginning of the end. Back in Berlin, Stauffenberg sends a message to Germany that Hitler is dead and martial law is in effect, then orders the Reserves to start rounding up SS officers. It's a huge, dangerous, epic operation- the fight for Berlin. The final act of the movie is fucking intense, but I’m leaving out the very end. It’s a pretty incredible story, and even though the concentration camps aren't a part of the movie, you think about it in almost every scene- the knowledge of what these monsters did. That's Valkyrie. Everyone clapped, and we were all pretty floored. I think Bryan Singer did a bang-up job making an intense, well-written and acted flick. One other thing I wanted to mention was the accurate use of German Luftwaffe aircraft of the period, which was very cool. I'll probably see it again once it comes out, and hopefully it will be trimmed down a little, but it’s worth seeing. If you can use this, call me Didgeridoo.
