Review: Valkyrie

So, the first movie I saw this holiday season was Valkyrie...you know, the one where Tom Cruise and Kenneth Branagh try to kill Hitler?  The part of me that adores historical thrillers was very excited when I first heard this movie was coming out, but the side of me that longs to succumb to the Tom-Cruise-is-a-nut-job belief encouraged by the media and...well...I guess Tom himself was admittedly rather scornful.  All in all, however, I wasn't disappointed.  Will this movie win best picture at the Oscars?  No, probably not.  But it is certainly informative and entertaining.  And there's something to be said for that.  

Tom Cruise is one of those people who is so famous it's impossible to see him as anyone other than himself.  Unfortunately, he's not a strong enough actor to fully overcome this obstacle.  However, the movie is rather mission impossible-esq, which makes him more than tolerable in the role (what mission could be more impossible than killing Hitler, over-turning the Third Reich, and making peace with the allies in the course of a few hours?).  He's not a terrible actor by any stretch.  And the overt, almost self-conscious costuming also helps.  I'm not about to look it up, but I'm assuming the real life Stauffenberg did actually wear an eye patch (otherwise that would just be pathetic).

*SPOILER ALERT*

You will probably not enjoy this movie if you, like my father and several of our friends, dislike watching movies when you know going in how the story ends.  For the record, Hitler wins.