Valkyrie is the story of a plot to assassinate Hitler and seize control of Germany in 1944. There were actually several such plots and there is no need to tell you that they were all unsuccessful. This one operated under the guidance of General von Stauffenberg a highly decorated war hero and German aristocrat.

The film opens in Tunisia with von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) getting injured in a British attack. He lost his left eye, his right hand and two fingers from his left hand. Back home in Germany his general discontent becomes known to the German resistance who are having no luck in removing Hitler. This precarious alliance of politicians and military men want to stage a coup and seize power. A noble aim perhaps although it should be pointed out that their ideas about what to do if they were successful were varied. While their bravery may be seen as heroic they were more appalled by Hitler’s lack of skill than his foreign policy.

The group manage to persuade a reluctant von Stauffenberg to take the lead and he does his best to enforce a plan. He is used to dealing with soldiers who follow orders but he soon discovers the resistance are less obedient. Moving against Hitler will result in certain death if they are unsuccessful but von Stauffenberg refuses to back down and in the face of terrible odds he attempts to kill the dictator with a bomb. It doesn’t end well for the conspirators.

The film has received generally favourable reviews and the events portrayed within are, by all accounts, relatively historically accurate for a Hollywood movie. The film recreates the tense atmosphere of Germany in 1944 and it is a lavish production with a budget not far shy of $100 million. Despite the fact you know the outcome director Bryan Singer does his best to inject some excitement.

To be honest I found the movie somewhat dull and thought the casting was awkward. Tom Cruise as an eye patch wearing German general was a stretch too far for me. The number of respected British actors popping up here was also something of a distraction. Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Terence Stamp and Tom Wilkinson all made an appearance but none of their talents were exploited to much effect. Worst of all was comedian Eddie Izzard playing General Erich Fellgiebel, there are enough talented actors out there that he shouldn’t really be able to get work and his performance here was awful.

In the end the film gets the historical points mostly correct but sacrifices excitement to do it. They introduce loads of characters trying to recreate a close approximation of events. The script by Christopher McQuarrie is complex and ill suited to an action movie or thriller. None of the characters are given enough time to really develop and von Stauffenberg himself is a puzzling character. The film makers cannot help themselves trying to apply a heroic sheen but his personal politics were decidedly muddy. Ultimately Valkyrie is lifeless and fails to engage.