tentacles ran deep into the Nazi diaspora; thousands were executed or "disappeared" including Irwin Rommel who was not portrayed in the film - to say nothing of the mixed motives in those Germans wishing to see Hitler dead. These are all subjects that have already been explored and no doubt will be again in the future. Suffice to say, Singer and editor/composer John Ottman focused on the heart of this story: Hitler was destroying Germany/Europe and the July 20 plotters bucked the odds to stop him. The performances from this exceptional cast are first rate. Think what you want about Tom Cruise and Scientology - I'm no big fan of either - but judge the work on its merits. Cruise may not win an Oscar for his portrayal of von Stauffenberg, but he more than gets the job done. In terms of scope, the locations, battle scenes, costumes/uniforms, staging/settings, you can't ask for more in a WWII movie. There's nothing fake, nothing phony to spoil the period experience and vfx are seamless as they should be. If you're expecting a formula Hollywood thriller a la Bourne or M.I., you may be disappointed, but as a serious adult drama Valkyrie delivers the goods. It took some balls to make this movie and UA has earned its kudos.

Although the outcome is known and the movie develops rather slowly in the beginning, it manages to create a highly suspenseful and darkish-intense atmosphere that keeps you captivated until the end. Complains regarding the American/English accents and the German actors not speaking with German accents, or criticizing that Stauffenberg was "in reality" more charming and not as stiff as Cruise' interpretation, are niggling and banal at best. The movie does not focus on the private, psychological side of Stauffenberg but on his leading role in the assassination plot planned and executed amidst the "heart of darkness", which -we can be sure- was more than nerve-wracking and left certainly little space for charm and jokes. BTW: I was glad to see Nina von Stauffenberg portrayed as the knowing and smart wife that she actually was. The performance of all actors is superb, and Cruise certainly deserves special praise since his commitment to the role is tangible and remarkably intense.Highly recommended!

and where Men of action and those who just wanted to sit around talking about doing it. It is clear that Tom's character was driven by taking action, just wished we knew a little bit more about him.After the film my friend and I were debating on what parts of the story were true or what was embellished. Im very certain the characters kids playing the record "Flight of the Valkarie" was completely fictionalized and even a bit out of place, or perhaps too obvious would be the best choice of words. However that was my only real complaint to the makers of the film. Other than that it was really well done and have a pretty good feeling that the story will stick with me for a long time. Cause lets face it, these conspirators REA-A-A-L-Y came close to pulling it off. I was actually surprised at how close they got to winning and over throwing Hitler. I could just recall something about the bomb going off and the table top was the only thing that saved him back when they were telling me about this in High school. Even then a bit of curiosity sparked in my mind but that was it.This film really flushed everything out and shed some light and give a "wider scope" on the people of Germany and like the trailer said "To show the world that we are not all like him" Its definitely a film to be proud of.

People as human beings trapped in the wheels of a spinning war machine, and not merely monsters responsible for all WWII atrocities. The movie illustrates political ties and relationships between Army and SS which were at the heart of Hitler's grip on the Reich.

scenes or action packed shootings. This movie keeps the audience wrenched to its seat all the long of the movie. At many moments my belly was giving signs of my nervousness and that is how much i was infiltrated into the story.I will end my critic here and let you judge this must see cinematographic piece.-Nick

do fine, with a little help. This is a movie that is Better if you know what the story is, so explain the background who these people are, difference between the SS and regular Army, Nazis and Germans, etc. because the beginning of the movie can be confusing if you don't know the story. You might want to do some research, too. And expect to do more explaining after you see it. My kids - 10 & 12 - were captivated all the way through, without any sign of boredom, or not understanding what was going on. The violence is no more than kids see on t.v. No blood or gore, except for a mild scene at the beginning which is just standard war movie stuff. My kids had no trouble with any of it. So, I say, take the kids if they like war movies or adventure stories. Give them some History before you go, and Enjoy.

listed this movie as one of the worst of 2008 - without having seen the movie. That's right. He rated it without seeing it. It was a classic and reprehensible case of bias and perhaps even bigotry since he was engaging in Tom Cruise bashing which is usually practiced in conjunction with dissing Tom's religion.So I don't trust critics to tell the truth or give an unbiased review.I saw Valkyrie and enjoyed it immensely. I've studied the Hitler period and was familiar with most of the events but the movie educated me while it thrilled and entertained me. It is a movie I was happy to take my teen-aged children to see because it also educated and entertained them. I thought the cast did a great job. The script was outstanding and the direction excellent. Tom Cruise gave a dimension to Von Stauffenberg that deepened my understanding of the events. The supporting cast were brilliant. I highly recommend it.PS. It's some time since I wrote this review and I took thirty minutes tonight to read the other reviews on this movie, not surprisingly they are mostly very positive and unanimous in praising it. Interestingly, the critics, including the one named above, who trashed the movie without even seeing it, obviously did so in an effort to kill it at the box office. While many other reviewers noted this too, I'd like to point out that those critics and possibly some of the people who 'dont like Tom Cruise because of his weird religion' are actually following the same path that made it possible for Hitler to kill off millions of Jews who also had a 'weird religion'. Considering the historical background of Valkyrie I find that quite ironical.

Germans, it was clear that they were entering a down spiral and Hitler's madness was at the center of that. Regardless of the fact we know how the story ends, the movie manages to be a gripping tale based on real events. Well done Mr.Cruise, you won! Your Valkyrie is performing stupendously at the almighty box office.

WWII , the excitement level was sustained by not really knowing the precise timing of events or, more importantly, who would be spared in the end.Tom Cruise was very good in the lead role as the chief conspirator Col. von Stauffenberg . The rest of the cast was first rate, including Tom Wilkinson as Gen'l Fromm, a Nazi head honcho who was playing both sides of the fence, and many other notable actors, such as Kenneth Branagh and Terence Stamp, all excellent.For fans of "Downfall", the German film documenting Hitler's final week in the bunker one of the all time great WWII films and #75 on the IMDb top 250 , there were two actors from that movie playing in this one. Thomas Kretschmann and Christian Berkel both were key figures in "Downfall" had supporting roles in this film. For people with an interest in WWII or history in general, this is one film worth checking out.