Initially, when I first saw the poster and teaser trailer for Valkyrie, I didn’t think much of it. And to be perfectly honest, it was the fact that Tom Cruise was not only in the principle role but had kept his American accent. I realise this may be quite a prejudice reason to make an assumption on the film’s quality. However, it just seemed a bit odd seeing Cruise in a 1940’s Wehrmarcht uniform speaking in his own accent.

However, I was extremely shocked by my reaction to the film. My main worry about the accent issue was completely swept aside within the first 5 minutes. It opens with Cruise actually speaking German, which then fades seamlessly into English. I found this a really effective way of setting up the world of the film, and the way in which they were choosing to tell the story.

Once the movie started getting into the story I really enjoyed it. I was expecting the usual Hollywood ‘Pish’ –in which they’d turn it into Tom Cruise single handedly bringing down the Nazis. But the film’s realism and portrayal of 1940s Third Reich was scarily well done, I thought. You really feel the possibility of the principle characters being discovered.

The performances from the superb cast made for such an enguaging experience. The point in which the film really proves itself, however, is in the surprisingly emotional climax.

Criticisms I do have of the film are pretty much the obvious ones. Firstly, as the film is based on very famous and well known events, I couldn’t help feeling disappointed slightly at points. If you know your history, which I’m pretty sure most do, then it might strike some as a bit pointless watching the film –knowing the outcome of the plot.

Also, I think there were a few problems concerning characters. For instance, Kenneth Branagh’s character is set up as quite a major player at the front of the film. However, he disappears very quickly and does not reappear until the very end of the film. This I was fairly disappointed by as I thought his performance was great.

All in all, I was extremely surprised by how good a film Valkyrie was –turning out to be a far more intelligent piece of cinema than I believe it looks.