The Movie:
I missed all of our screenings for ‘Valkyrie’ last year and although I was a little disappointed about it, I didnt hold high hopes for it. Last week I got a blu-ray copy in the mail to review so it was due time that I sat down and gave it a shot.
Let me first say that I absolutely love WWII movie and I find Hitler a very fascinating subject despite the mass genocide he produced. The first thing that turned me off about this movie wasnt even Tom Cruise, I still like the guy! It was the fact that Bryan Singer decided to not even bother giving the main characters German Accents, that was just a super downer from the beginning.
The opening scene of the movie has Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg(Cruise) writing a journal entry about how disgust on the war and Hitlers actions thus far. Originally there is an inner monologue with him speaking German, without an accent, and then it does a cheesy transition into him speaking English. I audibly laughed during this scene and my wife had no idea why to which I later had to explain myself.
Once I got over the no accents the movie really digs in and is quite enjoyable. I say enjoyable lightly because the entire movie is about plotting to kill Hitler, which by most standards is a good thing but its still seems twisted.
Cruise is accompanied by a star studded ensemble cast with the likes of Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Terence Stamp and Eddie Izzard who definitely help him carry this movie. Lets face it, Tom Cruise doesn’t have the public appeal that he once had but I still like him as an actor and definitely think he did a fantastic job as Stauffenberg. This could easily creep into my favorite WWII films list.
The Disc/Features:
There are 2 commentary tracks featured on the blu-ray release, one of which features Tom Cruise, Bryan Singer, and writer Christopher McQuarrie. I didnt listen to the full thing but its great to hear Cruise and Singer go back and forth on some of the scenes as opposed to just the Director talking about making the scene.
By far my favorite feature on the disc has to be ‘The Journey to Valkyrie’ which is a documentary that focuses on the journey Bryan Singer and the crew endured trying to make this film. Most of which they faced from the German government in order to get permission for filming.
The sound will absolutely blow you away! Between the war scenes and the score that John Ottman brings to the film are both outstanding. The picture in 1080p is absolutely glorious and mixed with the audio makes for an incredible home movie watching experience.
