Valkiria

Valkiria será disfrutada al máximo por aquellos a quienes les gusta profundizar en este período histórico en particular. Bryan Singer aborda el tema con responsabilidad y no parece colorear los hechos históricos en beneficio de la película. Valkiria no juega a nada, no tiene «grandes ambiciones artísticas», no comenta la política como lo hace Spielberg en Múnich. Se limita a reconstruir los acontecimientos de lo que sería un sólido thriller conspirativo: valores de producción, suspense en la trama, buen reparto (el General von Tresckow interpretado por Branagh es un personaje pequeño, pero el más interesante y mejor interpretado). Y al final no le falta ni emoción ni profundidad de significado, recordándonos que alguien tuvo el valor de al menos intentarlo... P.S. ¡El tema principal coral de John Ottman es hermoso! (16.01.2009)

Bryan Singer es un director realmente valiente, se embarcó en un proyecto exigente y arriesgado que podría haber terminado en un fracaso. Sin embargo, no lo hizo, al contrario, logró representar de manera realista la valiente pero lamentable lucha contra la derrota total y la destrucción de Alemania. Tom Cruise no me decepcionó, lo cual no es una sorpresa para mí, al contrario, la actuación de Kenneth Branagh me decepcionó un poco, a pesar de que aparece inmediatamente después de Cruise en los créditos, no tuvo mucho espacio en la película. Y demostró que puede interpretar a los nazis, como ya lo había demostrado en "Conferencia en Wannsee". También considero acertada la elección de actores británicos experimentados, quienes asumieron sus papeles de manera excelente. Los últimos diez minutos me conmovieron profundamente, fue un manejo creíble y magistral ¡Bravo! (28.01.2009)

A historical thriller executed with precision, which, even despite the handicap of having a known ending, manages to generate tension better than most of today’s competition. Cruise is not quite up to the task, which results in several uneven scenes (the ones with his wife), but the perfect performances of the rest of the cast more than make up for it. It’s not a perfect film by any means, but I still liked Valkyrie more than three fifths of this year’s Oscar contenders. (16.02.2009)

It couldn't have been filmed better (probably). This thought popped into my head during the closing credits. Singer has turned a theoretical weakness (the viewer knows how it will turn out) into a major strength and subordinated everything to a perfectly refined style. Complaining about a certain coldness in a film that takes place in a setting of perfectly cut uniforms and precise military hierarchy is like accusing romantic films of moving you. Cruise is whipped to the max in the company of the (mostly British) acting elite, with Singer taming his ego enough to make his character serve the story as well, not the other way around. I’m tempted to give it full stars for the tense quarter of an hour that immediately follows the explosion. But I'll save the last star for when the DVD version is at least 20-30 minutes longer, which will fix the minor mistakes (I’d like to see stronger motivations for some of the characters). 4 ½, knowing that this is one of the strongest cinema experiences of the year. Edit: After seeing it a second time, I send all the criticisms to hell and give the film the full thumbs up it deserves. (09.02.2009)

A fairy tale that is simplified beyond bearable limits, about the struggle between good Germans and ultra-evil ones, where all the motivations of the coup d’etat are summed up in the phrase "Hitler is simply evil. Excuse me, but what's that supposed to be? At least they could have touched on the real reasons. I felt as if I were on the verge of adulthood, and my parents were explaining to me that babies were created by mom and dad kissing, and then a few months later a stork delivers the baby. But despite the general knowledge of the event, despite Cruise being just Cruise and not Stauffenberg, despite the Germans scheming in English, despite the transformation of ranks and terminology to what they are called in the West, despite the inaccuracies, despite the unintended ridiculousness of the eureka scene (including the light bulb turning on!), Singer made the almost impossible possible. After a weak opening half hour, my respiratory system stopped working for tension in many scenes. So I left the movie theater pretty damn happy, but I'd still rather someone did a better job, faithfully, and in detail. Ideally under HBO's supervision. (05.02.2009)