Valkyrie

Tom Cruise takes on a slightly more serious role than that of his small role in Tropic Thunder.  Valkyrie finds Cruise playing Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a dissenter to Adolph Hitler and the leader of operation Valkyrie.  The operation, put quite simply, is an attempt to assassinate Hitler, and offer a truce and or treaty with the Allied forces in WWII.  In all, there were fifteen known attempts on the life of Hitler, and Operation Valkyrie was the last known attempt.  The plan was simple, Operation Valkyrie was originally intended to be executed if and when Hitler was pronounced dead.  With a careful rewording of the order, Stauffenberg makes it so that, after Hitler is assassinated, as many known members of the SS are to be arrested, and control of Berlin is to be restored.  The only hangup for Stauffenberg is that it is 1944, and communication systems are not what they are today.  My analysis is below, here is the theatrical one-sheet from the film:

The Theatrical One-Sheet for Valkyrie

Tom Cruise scored big with this film, along with the rest of the cast which include Bill Nighy and Terence Stamp.  The film beautifully chronicles a few men’s failed attempt to stand up against the tyranny of a corrupt individual, as well as just how evil that individual can be.  The movie almost mirrors 300 in the way that few stood against many, and that their legacy lives on and they themselves are vindicated by history.  I’d give this film 4.7 out of 5 stars.  A word of caution to parents; the ending is kind of grotesque, and probably not suitable for anyone under the age of 10.