RojoValkyrie (2008) - Nothing Ever Goes According to Plan.
The movie, while hyped, fell off the radar soon after its release; I blame the poor acting and weak plotline. Tom Cruise does a disappointing job considering everyone’s expectation of him; he just seems too much of a wimp to actually fight in a real war. Some of his co-stars steal the show at certain critical points further lessening his impact. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful with rich vibrant colors pervasive throughout the entire film. The colors scheme is an odd one with brown, greens and a subdued red. It works out beautifully with the colors contrasting without harming one another or the piece as a whole.
Tom Cruise seems to get into the role as the movie goes on but I still feel he has too much Jerry Maguire to pull it off, too much swagger. As a kernel constantly in the presence of generals and even the furor himself, his self righteous whining bitching would hardly be tolerated. Beyond that however, I think there are some great performances particularly by Bill Nightly in the role of General Olbricht. You could see the worry and indecision on his face. He seems to be genuinely worried about the possible ramifications of their actions and the best course of action.
The story is based on a true story of an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Hitler's life. I don't think being aware of how it was going to end really hurt the movie but everything is so bland it doesn't really matter. The plot is slowly drawn out over two hours, longer than they needed to use. Although one of the major pitfalls is the all of the characters are so two-dimensional, there's no depth to any of them. There are groups are; hardcore Nazi's, who are evil ; Sacred Germany supporters, who are good, and then who have cowards and opportunists who side with the side that has the advantage. If I can characterize the entire cast of characters in a single sentence, that's just sad.
I'm much more interested in why people act or how they got the way they are. There is a ridiculous lack of back story on any of the characters. The only character they weakly even attempt it for is Colonel Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), who we follow for the duration of the movie, is only shown for a short clip in North Africa, at most a year before the rest of the movie. We see him get shot and lose his hand, looking back now I should have enjoyed seeing Cruise get hurt if I knew how bad he was going to be.
At the beginning of the movie Tom Cruise looses a hand and throughout the rest of the movie he has a nub. It looks very realistic and its use at certain parts of the movie really helps bring an element of drama, even if it's only novelty. That being said it still falls into the looks department which is a good metaphor for the movie as a whole. This movie is beautifully shot with lush colors, interesting shadows and at stunning locations; unfortunately the plotline is underdeveloped and rather boring. I’d say you should watch it without sound, much like you would a Brittany Spears video; when you turn off the audio you don’t lose much.
Valkyrie (2008) Movie Poster
Tom Cruise seems to get into the role as the movie goes on but I still feel he has too much Jerry Maguire to pull it off, too much swagger. As a kernel constantly in the presence of generals and even the furor himself, his self righteous whining bitching would hardly be tolerated. Beyond that however, I think there are some great performances particularly by Bill Nightly in the role of General Olbricht. You could see the worry and indecision on his face. He seems to be genuinely worried about the possible ramifications of their actions and the best course of action.
The story is based on a true story of an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Hitler's life. I don't think being aware of how it was going to end really hurt the movie but everything is so bland it doesn't really matter. The plot is slowly drawn out over two hours, longer than they needed to use. Although one of the major pitfalls is the all of the characters are so two-dimensional, there's no depth to any of them. There are groups are; hardcore Nazi's, who are evil ; Sacred Germany supporters, who are good, and then who have cowards and opportunists who side with the side that has the advantage. If I can characterize the entire cast of characters in a single sentence, that's just sad.
I'm much more interested in why people act or how they got the way they are. There is a ridiculous lack of back story on any of the characters. The only character they weakly even attempt it for is Colonel Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), who we follow for the duration of the movie, is only shown for a short clip in North Africa, at most a year before the rest of the movie. We see him get shot and lose his hand, looking back now I should have enjoyed seeing Cruise get hurt if I knew how bad he was going to be.
Valkyrie (2008) Screenshot
At the beginning of the movie Tom Cruise looses a hand and throughout the rest of the movie he has a nub. It looks very realistic and its use at certain parts of the movie really helps bring an element of drama, even if it's only novelty. That being said it still falls into the looks department which is a good metaphor for the movie as a whole. This movie is beautifully shot with lush colors, interesting shadows and at stunning locations; unfortunately the plotline is underdeveloped and rather boring. I’d say you should watch it without sound, much like you would a Brittany Spears video; when you turn off the audio you don’t lose much.
