Valkyrie

Rating PG13 Genre historical Starring Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson Directed by Bryan Singer Publisher MGM

This film is based on a true story, and although the previews may have led some viewers to think that this film was an alternate history, this film remains faithful to the facts of an actual event that occurred in World War II Nazi Germany.

The story is about a Nazi military man, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, played by Tom Cruise, who begins to see the inherent evil in the Nazi regime under Hitler. The film starts out slowly as the heart of the matter begins to unfold. Resistance groups are shown to be crushed, but the resistance group hidden carefully within the military continues to meet and plan. When von Stauffenberg joins the group, the ball gets rolling on a plan to assassinate Hitler. 

All of the details of the assassination plan are organized carefully and set in motion only after all possible failures are considered. The stability of the plan is contingent upon the solid loyalties of its participants, and as the plan begins to unfold, the bravery of each member of the resistance group is tested to its limit. 

The film gives valuable insight into the sentiments of some of the world’s greatest enemies, showing that Nazi Germany is not all that it’s been imagined to be, and that even in an army of evil men, there are a few good men to be found. While the film has a predictable ending, in keeping with a common knowledge about history, this film is not as much about the end as it is about the process of getting there.