Valkyrie pushed back again...to 2009

[Doctor Gonzo]

Originally set as a summer release, then pushed back to the fall, now it looks like a 2009 release...

Richard Brooks, Arts Editor, The Sunday Times

The fortunes of Hollywood actor Tom Cruise have suffered a blow with the news that his next big film has been postponed until 2009.

The release of Valkyrie, which tells the story of the 1944 assassination plot against Hitler, was first postponed from this summer to the autumn and is now not expected to appear until next year.

“We were originally expecting the film to be released in June,” said a senior executive at one of Britain’s leading cinema chains.

“I know there have been all sorts of problems with this production and we will not be screening it at all this year.”

The film is not only a blow to Cruise as an actor but in his more recent incarnation as a movie mogul at United Artists (UA), the studio which made the film.

One critic in Hollywood has declared “Valkyrie is dead”, with another arguing that the film’s problems could also wreck the revival of UA.

Cruise, whose earlier career saw hit after hit with Top Gun, Rain Man and Jerry Maguire, is a stakeholder in UA, which was originally founded by Charlie Chaplin and other stars.

It has since passed through several different owners until Cruise relaunched it as a major studio in 2006.

Cruise, who is married to the actress Katie Holmes, has a minority stake with his business partner Paula Wagner, but the pair have almost total control over which films are made.

UA’s first major film, Lions for Lambs, a story about the Iraq war with Cruise and Meryl Streep starring and Robert Redford directing, flopped.

Valkyrie has been directed by Bryan Singer, who is best known for The Usual Suspects and X-Men. The new film, which was mostly shot last year at a cost of £45m, has so far left test audiences unimpressed.

The quality of Cruise’s German accent was widely commented on. The film has also had to have reshoots after footage was damaged in labs.

Cruise plays the German officer Claus von Stauffenberg, who led the plot. Other German parts are played by British actors, including Bill Nighy and Kenneth Branagh.

A flop would not be good news either for Branagh, who directed three films last year – The Magic Flute, As You Like It and Sleuth – all of which had mixed reviews.

However, Branagh has usually fared better as an actor. He won awards for the film Conspiracy in 2001, where he played the Nazi bureaucrat Reinhard Heydrich, who chaired the conference during the second world war at which the policy of exterminating Jews was decided upon.

Roger Friedman, who has a widely read film blog and a column on foxnews.com, recently advised Cruise, who was formerly married to Nicole Kidman, to “do another Jerry Maguire-like comedy” to get his acting career back on track.

[Neeb]

Covered this two months ago.

Has it been pushed back further than Feb 2009?

[toddly6666]

That sucks for Carice Van Houten as well

[RichC2]

That sucks for Carice Van Houten as well

She's in this? Well then, now I'm interested.

[FiveO]

I bought Black Book as a blind buy and was very impressed at her performance and beauty.

I'll still see it...but as RichC2 said...now I'm more interested :)

[toddly6666]

It sucks because this will only delay Carice's possible stardom in Hollywood. She's one of Holland's best current English-speaking actresses - it would be a shame that she won't get hyped up again til 2009, when hopefully people/media won't forget about her in Black Book...

[rehmus]

watching tom cruise free fall is the most fun thing since michael jackson was doing it.

[starseed1981]

watching tom cruise free fall is the most fun thing since michael jackson was doing it.

So very very very true. Idiot destroyed his career.

[DVD Josh]

I heard that copies of Chinese Democracy will include movie cash for Valkyrie.

[Groucho]

"Valkyrie needs food...badly!"

"Valkyrie is about to die!"

[Ronnie Dobbs]

This movie seems like it will be more of Apt Pupil than X-Men or Usual Suspects in the career of Bryan Singer. It just seems horribly miscast.

[Artman]

I think the mistake has been marketing it as a Tom Cruise movie (see the trailer for example) rather than an ensemble drama along the lines of Usual Suspects, Munich, etc. That way the movie looks better and Cruise doesn't put himself on the line... this kind of movie even if done really well wouldn't be a box office hit anyways.

[GreenVulture]

It sucks because this will only delay Carice's possible stardom in Hollywood. She's one of Holland's best current English-speaking actresses - it would be a shame that she won't get hyped up again til 2009, when hopefully people/media won't forget about her in Black Book...
Where did she say she wants to be a big star in the US?

[Peep]

Put a fork in it. This movie is done.

[sauce07]

Why does this movie still interest me? It seems like I may be all alone in the theater when this opens according to this thread.

[Jericho]

Why does this movie still interest me? It seems like I may be all alone in the theater when this opens according to this thread.


Bryan Singer (good director)
Christopher McQuarrie (won Oscar for writing)
Good Cast (Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy among others)

You'd think this would be a decent movie.

[BJacks]

As someone who loves WWII movies, especially those that take place in Berlin like Downfall and The Bunker, I'm still really looking forward to this. Cruise may be nutty but I dig his work.

[sauce07]

Bryan Singer (good director)
Christopher McQuarrie (won Oscar for writing)
Good Cast (Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy among others)

You'd think this would be a decent movie.

Exactly. The talent behind this movie is A+. The Usual Suspects was my favorite movie for 1/2 my life. Tom Wilkinson is one of my fav. actors.

And you know what i'm gonna say it, Tom Cruise is a good actor. I don't care what he does on Oprah, or what he says on the Today show, the man was in Risky Business and Top Gun. He always entertains me, i've never walked away from a TC movie feeling like I didn't get my money worth.

I can go see a Woody Allen movie and block out the fact that he is sleeping with the adopted daughter of his ex-wife. I can watch Roman Polanski without thinkng about him raping a 13 year old. How about O.J.? The Naked Gun is still funny. I think I can block out TC's antics from the last few years.

[PopcornTreeCt]

I don't mind Tom Cruise I think he's a good actor that mostly overacts but I still like him. I don't know about him playing a one eyed German though. I don't think Bryan Singer is much of a director though. Yeah, he didn't fuck up The Usual Suspects and X-Men was pretty good Superman Returns was pretty mild. I don't think anyone was worried about this film until the studio pushed back the release date. It shows a lack of confidence in the film and that must be pretty bad when they release crap week after week.

[JumpCutz]

Tom Cruise is a good actor


:down:

[jeffkjoe]

I have a bad feeling about this.

[fmian]

Bryan Singer (good director)
Christopher McQuarrie (won Oscar for writing)
Good Cast (Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy among others)

You'd think this would be a decent movie.

Man you know what, I just don't think Singers a good director. I think he just got lucky with Usual Suspects (watch the DVD extras). Haven't seen Apt Pupil but it seems like everything after that just progressively got worse.
I keep expecting more punch from his movies, not action, but just substance.

Hopefully Valkyrie will show us something better as he's reteamed with McQuarrie for the first time since Suspects.

[Jericho]

Man you know what, I just don't think Singers a good director. I think he just got lucky with Usual Suspects (watch the DVD extras). Haven't seen Apt Pupil but it seems like everything after that just progressively got worse.
I keep expecting more punch from his movies, not action, but just substance.

Hopefully Valkyrie will show us something better as he's reteamed with McQuarrie for the first time since Suspects.


What about the X-Men movies? It seems everyone's down on Singer after Superman Returns, but ignoring that, is there a movie he made that's bad? I don't even think Superman Returns is bad. It's just that it's certainly one movie people pick on that he did. So let's remove that from discussion and look at his other 4.

[RichC2]

He doesn't have a particularly long filmography:

# Football Wives (2007) (TV)
# Superman Returns (2006)
# "House M.D." (3 episodes, 2004)
... aka House (USA: short title)
- Occam's Razor (2004) TV episode
- Pilot (2004) TV episode
- Unaired Pilot (????) TV episode
# X2 (2003)
# X-Men (2000)
# Apt Pupil (1998)
# The Usual Suspects (1995)

Haven't seen Football Wives (?? US Version of Footballers Wives?) but have liked everything else (except for, oddly enough, The Usual Suspects.)

[fmian]

The X-Men movies were effective popcorn movies at best. Like anything Bay would make.
I dunno, I just really want to see Singer evolve like Fincher, Rodriguez, Jackson, and Boyle have done. Their film careers all started the same year (besides Jackson) and they all went from leaps to bounds. Singer seems like he's bitten off more than he can chew with going to big budget hollywood flicks strait away, and put out far less quality movies than the other directors have. I really wanted to see more 'films' from him. But like I said, maybe Valkyrie will change that.

[dom56]

"Valkyrie needs food...badly!"

"Valkyrie is about to die!"

:lol:

Valkyrie sucks!! I like to play the Warrior instead.

[chris_sc77]

Wow. This trailer is fantastic. Hopefully this will shut up all the Cruise-haters:
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[fmian]

No German accents = No believability.

I'd totally be taken out of the moment and constantly be reminded that I'm watching a 'movie', and a bad looking one at that.

[Groucho]

No German accents = No believability.Yes, because we all know that the Nazis spoke to each other in accented English. :lol:

[RichC2]

Of course they did, everybody knows foreign languages only exist to provide accents for English.

[Artman]

I don't get it - that's the same trailer that's been out for months...

:hscratch:

[B5Erik]

I haven't seen the trailer before.

Looks good. I think Tom Cruise is nuts, and possibly a world class jerk, but I'll still watch one of his movies if it looks good. This one looks good.

[mrflix]

Has anyone else seen www.tomcruise.com ???

Just a tad self congraulatory, however it does make one realize he's made quite a few good if not great movies.

[Kal-El]

I'm probably one of the few who'll still see this opening day despite its release date getting moved around. I like Cruise as an actor and Singer as a director. No brainer for me.

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

Eddie Izzard, Stephen Fry, Tom Wilkinson, Branagh Excellent cast of English actors there, pity Stephen isn't playing Lord Melchett.

[Rizor]

I'd say the movie looks good on the whole, but the accents are quite distracting.

[fmian]

Yes, because we all know that the Nazis spoke to each other in accented English. :lol:

I got the impression from the trailer that Cruises German character was talking with the English military as part of some conspiracy. Like some rogue Nazi or something. In that situation I could see a German soldier speaking in English with a German accent. But if he's dressed up in Nazi attire, and speaking with an American accent something just seems wrong there.

[Groucho]

I got the impression from the trailer that Cruises German character was talking with the English military as part of some conspiracy. Like some rogue Nazi or something. In that situation I could see a German soldier speaking in English with a German accent. But if he's dressed up in Nazi attire, and speaking with an American accent something just seems wrong there.It can be explained away with a line of dialogue: "Your Bavarian accent is certainly stands out here in Berlin!" ;)

[JumpCutz]

This movie looks awful. Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise yet again... this time with an eye patch. -rolleyes-

[fmian]

It can be explained away with a line of dialogue: "Your Bavarian accent is certainly stands out here in Berlin!" ;)

But he has an American accent.

[Groucho]

But he has an American accent.And the other actors (at least in the trailer) all have English accents. So they explain it away as everybody being from different parts of Germany.

[harrydoyle]

That's not a bad way to explain it imo. Accents do vary quite a bit in Germany thanks to years of separation before reunification. Personally, I don't mind the lack of accents in this movie as I usually find faked accents MORE distracting and ridiculous. I'm still excited to see what Bryan Singer and Chris McQuarrie have got in store once this releases.

[rennervision]

I agree Tom Cruise looks miscast. But I'm actually surprised I feel that way. I think he deserves more credit for his acting ability. No one, for instance, thought he was the right choice for Lestat in Interview with the Vampire, then the movie came out and he proved all the doubters wrong.

But his career definitely seems off-kilter since his divorce with Nicole Kidman.

[RyoHazuki]

I'm thinking these delays are a ploy by the producers. They want Tropic Thunder to restore some likability and then they'll release Valkyrie.

[project86]

I don't think I'll bother with this one. The trailer didn't look like anything special for me. Tom Cruise is an actor that I like some of the movie's he's in, but not him in particular.

[redrum]

this is being released in december now.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990514.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

[chris_sc77]

Well today has been one of the MOST DEPRESSING/DISAPPOINTING days of movie news in recent memory.

1. Quantum Of Solace is 106 minutes long. Bond movies should be over 2 hours.
2. "W." is Rated PG-13. Oliver Stone movies should be rated R

and (the reason that makes this post relevant) :

3. Valkyrie is Rated PG-13. That is correct. I shit you not. This fact-based WWII tale has the same rating as Harry Potter 5. WWII movies and Tom Cruise movies should be rated R. Well the good ones always seem to be at least.

[sauce07]

I always felt this was a PG-13, no question in my mind.
As for only good Tom Cruise movies being R allow me to remind you of
Top Gun
Day of Thunder
Mission Impossible 1,2 & 3
War of the Worlds
Minority Report

[chris_sc77]

^I'll Give you Minority Report. Which is an amazing fantastic film and one of the best PG-13 films of all time. But the others I dont know...A few may be enjoyable but I dont know if I'd go so far as to say they are good.

[Zen Peckinpah]

The PG-13 I expected on this one. Doesn't seem TOO bloody of a war movie. Unlike Max Payne, a movie where people get SHOT THE FUCK UP that got a PG-13.

[fumanstan]

Well today has been one of the MOST DEPRESSING/DISAPPOINTING days of movie news in recent memory.

1. Quantum Of Solace is 106 minutes long. Bond movies should be over 2 hours.
2. "W." is Rated PG-13. Oliver Stone movies should be rated R

and (the reason that makes this post relevant) :

3. Valkyrie is Rated PG-13. That is correct. I shit you not. This fact-based WWII tale has the same rating as Harry Potter 5. WWII movies and Tom Cruise movies should be rated R. Well the good ones always seem to be at least.

:lol:

[NoirFan]

MGM internal memo on trailer buzz (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/internal-mgm-memo-talks-up-valkyrie-trailer/). Good to know the Fan-Boy and Video Sharing communities feel the film has the potential to be "awesome".

[bdshort]

I saw the trailer tonight before "Eagle Eye"... it looks interesting but I think the American accent will be distracting. For some reason I can accept the "English" accent as some universal accent used in movies that don't want to bother with the actual accent of the language the people theoretically would be speaking, but not an American one.

That said, is it really hard for a set of accomplished actors to actually speak with a German accent? Maybe the producers thought it would be MORE distracting to see Tom Cruise speak in one, even if it was a good one?

[Superman07]

So I don't get any huge goose-bumps from that trailer. Likewise, I agree that the various accents are not fitting. It's ashame since the production values look top notch. :(

Maybe this will be the opposite of Pearl Harbor. Good story, good production, but poor execution; versus bad story, good production and worse execution. Ironic I know.

[RichC2]

The new trailer (Probably the same as before Eagle Eye, I'm not sure) uses yet another modified Saw theme, but the trailer is pretty sweet. Accents aside, I see no problems with the execution.

( Trailer 6: http://www.apple.com/trailers/mgm/valkyrie/ )

[whotony]

this is early december now?

[Kicker_of_Elves]

Yup, It actually looks pretty good. I'm looking forward to it and i'm hoping it works for Singer.

[Boba Fett]

I did some reading about the actual July 20th plot and my interest in this film is definitely higher. It's a very interesting story and this is a cast of tremendous talent, so I'll be there opening weekend.

[chris_sc77]

From IMDB:
"Trade Review: Valkyrie Will Be "Modest Success"

11 December 2008 1:39 AM, PST

Despite numerous predictions that the Tom Cruise historical drama Valkyrie, about the plot to assassinate Hitler during World War II, would become a disaster for both Cruise and his UA studio, the Hollywood Reporter in a review has called it a "coolly efficient, entertaining and straightforward tale" and has predicted "modest success" for it. "Singer has crafted a fine film," Kirk Honeycutt concluded in his trade review. "One just wishes for even greater details -- and a different ending." (The assassins were, of course, caught and executed.) The film is due to open on Christmas Day."

[abrg923]

Could someone PLEASE update the fucking thread title? This is NOT coming out in 2009.

[JPRaup]

the review thread might be a better place to post those things : http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/545096-valkyrie-review-dir-singer-cruise.html

[Jack Straw]

Whoa! spoiler alert please.

[Ronnie Dobbs]

No wonder it keeps getting pushed back.

Cruise distractingly bad in `Valkyrie'

Much ado has been made about "Valkyrie," starring Tom Cruise as would-be Hitler assassin Col. Claus von Stauffenberg.
There is the release date, which has been moved around several times until finally being set for Christmas, the perfect time for a feel-good movie about killing Nazis. There's the marketing of the film: Is it a historical thriller featuring Cruise in an eye patch, or is it a straight-up action picture full of explosions? And then, of course, there is the Cruise factor itself — the fact that his very presence adds a layer of tabloid-friendly fascination.
Turns out Cruise is both the central figure in "Valkyrie" and its weakest link. He's distractingly bad in this, the iconography of his celebrity so strongly overshadowing his performance. He's just too powerfully contemporary. With his hard, flat American accent, he stands out in every single scene. And he's not a good enough actor to immerse himself in this kind of period piece, or allow us to do the same. (Then again, if he had affected a German accent — or a British one to blend in among his co-stars — he would have invited derision for that, too. Maybe the guy just can't win.)
It's too bad, too, because "Valkyrie" looks great. With its impeccable production design and German locations — including the Bendlerblock in Berlin, where Operation Valkyrie began and where members of the anti-Nazi resistance were executed after it failed — it feels substantial, never CGI-fake, and it moves fluidly. No one ever doubted the ability of Bryan Singer, director of the first two "X-Men" movies, to make a solid, energetic actioner. But — and this is going to sound like more piling on — Cruise undermines the potential of "Valkyrie" at every turn.
He's outclassed and outmatched by every member of the strong supporting cast, any of whom would have been more believable as Stauffenberg: Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp and Bill Nighy as fellow German officers, even Eddie Izzard, who's a unique and unexpected choice.
Then again, the script from Christopher McQuarrie, who won an Academy Award for writing Singer's breakthrough film "The Usual Suspects," never fully fleshes out his motivations. (Nathan Alexander is a co-writer.) Stauffenberg is depicted as a loyal but wounded army officer who loves Germany yet finds himself increasingly horrified by Adolf Hitler's rise to power.
But we never get a sense of inner conflict, of the doubt he may have felt in betraying his duties, of the fear he may have faced in putting himself and his family in danger by going through with the plan. When Stauffenberg states with clenched-jawed, hushed certitude, "We have to kill Hitler," we'll just have to take his word for it that he feels strongly about the task he's about to lead.
He joins the German Resistance for the last of several failed plots to take out Hitler, scheduled for July 20, 1944. Stauffenberg was to plant a bomb and then head a regime change known as Operation Valkyrie, based on Hitler's own emergency plan to keep the government running in case of his death.
As we all know from the start, that didn't happen — Hitler killed himself a year later — and surprisingly, Singer never generates enough suspense to make us forget that as we're watching. The whole effort feels rather smoothly detached. The actual bomb-orchestration sequence is well-staged and has a few breathless moments, but a scene that's supposed to be pivotal and poignant — when Stauffenberg reluctantly thrusts his partially amputated arm in the air and declares "Heil Hitler!" — instead comes off as laughable.
"Valkyrie," a United Artists release, is rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language. Running time: 120 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

[NoirFan]

Really, what was Singer thinking casting Cruise? It seems pretty obvious that he was all wrong for the part.

[DonnachaOne]

I think it was more a case of Cruise hiring Singer.

[Ronnie Dobbs]

you're right this is Cruise's first big movie as a movie exec. not really a step in the right direction.

Tom Cruise to Run United Artists Film Studio

Morning Edition, November 3, 2006 · Tom Cruise is planning to take over the United Artists studio with his producing partner, Paula Wagner. The news comes just two months after Cruise's bitter break with Paramount Pictures. While no one questions Cruise's track record as a star, many wonder if he can successfully produce movies in which he doesn't appear.

[PopcornTreeCt]

This movie is currently at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. That's pretty good, considering I was expecting a lot worse. And that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is at a poor 76%.

[whotony]

76% is poor?

[PopcornTreeCt]

76% is poor?

A movie that is expected to be a Best Picture nominee should at least be a 90% on RT.

[Coral]

This movie is currently at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. That's pretty good, considering I was expecting a lot worse.

There's only been 19 reviews accounted for on RT. I think it will drop drastically as the word is the film is terrible and Cruise is simply laughable in his role. I wouldn't be surpised to see this in the 40% range... or lower.

[brizz]

i'm at a loss as to how anyone could favorably review this. i don't care if it's decent in terms of tension, etc. they have tom cruise, tom wilkinson, kenneth branagh, and a bunch of other not german actors playing fucking Nazi officers in world war II. it's fucking laughable. what bits i've seen of cruise look like something that should have been in front of Tropic Thunder sandwiched between a Booty Sweat ad and the trailer for Scorcher V.

[superdeluxe]

i'm at a loss as to how anyone could favorably review this.


Maybe they watched it?

[UncleGramps]

I'm surprised that people care so much about whether or not the people playing Nazis speak German or have a German accent. Seems pretty trivial to me. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I would imagine that there are more significant things to praise/criticize than whether the characters have accurate accents or not.

[Anubis2005X]

Maybe they watched it?

Amen! I have fairly low expectations for this flick, and I probably won't bother seeing it in theaters, but I'll still hold off on flinging crap at it until I see it.

[Buttmunker]

This movie is currently at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. That's pretty good, considering I was expecting a lot worse.

Reason the rating is good is because Tom Cruise's character gets killed by the Nazis.

We've never seen anything like that before!

[Marvin Dorfler]

I was nodding off in the first hour of the "planning" stages; the exposition, etc. Usually I am a big Cruise fan having grown up on RISKY BUSINESS, THE COLOR OF MONEY, TOP GUN, COCKTAIL & DAYS OF THUNDER (Plus I have the same last name but spelled differently--my last name Kruse came from Krusowitz!) and I really wanted to like VALKYRIE hoping that Cruise would build off of his TROPIC THUNDER cameo but the movie just doesn't hit its stride. And although as an audience, you already know whats going to happen (we also knew the ending of TITANIC); you sit and wait, and wait....and wait. It really is unavoidable to NOT NOTICE that no one is speaking in a German accent--not even trying to get it down. A lot of British & plain old American accents. Cruise sounds no different in this film than he did in say VANILLA SKY or the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies. I don't get it--seems like Gwyneth Paltrow got that British accent down in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, Brad Pitt got the, I think it was "caravan" accent in SNATCH, hell, Eddie Murphy nailed the stereotypical Old-Jewish Man in COMING TO AMERICA---and many other examples that I can't think of b/c its so early in the morning! Save for Tom Wilkinson; the supporting cast is just eh. Cruise's wife and kids are just...there. For me, being of Hebrew descent--there was nothing at stake. I mean it was pretty damn late in the war (1945) for OPERATION: VALKYRIE to go into action. 6 million were already dead....

I think that this will be considered a dud on all accounts and will have decent numbers through the holiday weekend before a steep decline. Singer's staff did as good a job w/ the production design as I guess they could. Every scene (except the beginning in Tunisia), is a grey day w/ drowned out palette's and the movie just looks plain old and like it was thrown together to meet a deadline. Maybe I will give it a second look on BD, maybe not. The book it is based has so far been far more intriguing. Bottom line is that the damage done by Hitler was already done which left me feeling like there was just nothing at stake; nothing or no character for me to really invest in...

--Dorfler

Behold the Collection: http://batkruse.dvdaf.com/

[dhmac]

For me, being of Hebrew descent--there was nothing at stake. I mean it was pretty damn late in the war (1945) for OPERATION: VALKYRIE to go into action. 6 million were already dead....

Operation Valkyrie (spelled "Walküre" in German) went into action in 1944, not 1945, only about 6 weeks after D-Day. I'm not sure how many total lives would have been saved overall if the War in Europe ended 9 months earlier, but it would've been in the millions.

.

[whotony]

you know Cruise isn't his real last name?

Thomas Cruise Mapother

[IIG]

The lack of accents really took away frome an already mediocre movie.

[Buttmunker]

you know Cruise isn't his real last name?

Thomas Cruise Mapother

Pardon me, but its Thomas Cruise Mapother the Fourth!

[Gerry P.]

It really is unavoidable to NOT NOTICE that no one is speaking in a German accent--not even trying to get it down. A lot of British & plain old American accents. Cruise sounds no different in this film than he did in say VANILLA SKY or the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies. I don't get it--seems like Gwyneth Paltrow got that British accent down in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, Brad Pitt got the, I think it was "caravan" accent in SNATCH, hell, Eddie Murphy nailed the stereotypical Old-Jewish Man in COMING TO AMERICA---and many other examples that I can't think of b/c its so early in the morning!The characters aren't Germans immigrants living in the US speaking English with a German accent. They are pretending to be Germans in Germany speaking their native tongue, so there is no reason for an accent.

[chris_sc77]

^Just like in Schindlers List?

[Mole177]

the first half was tough... I was close to walking out.

[dhmac]

the first half was tough... I was close to walking out.

...and the second half was what? Good? Bad? Ugly???

.

[Gerry P.]

^Just like in Schindlers List?... and Hogan's Heroes. What you are advocating is a corny Hollywood cliche. The qualifier for Schindler's List is that the main characters are of different ethnicities and are supposed to be speaking German with a particular accent (Hungarian, Polish, Yiddish, etc.) so the use of accents makes some kind of sense.

p.s. Are you disappointed when you watch a version of Hamlet where the actors are not using Danish accents?

[toddly6666]

This movie was awesome. It's basically:

1. Nazi James Bond
or
2. Mission Impossible 4 (that's what it's titled in Germany...;)..)

It's a totally entertaining thrilling flick. Everyone is good in it, including Tom Cruise. It doesn't matter at all that they are all talking in their normal voices. It's one of the best films of the year. And it's all true story.

It's funny that the film had half of the cast of Holland's BLACK BOOK as well...

[CloverClover]

I agree, this was great, very solid. Singer and McQuarrie as a director/writing team are perfectly matched, the classy,meticulous filmmaking and smart/intricate writing... in tone they are also perfectly aligned. Just read on imdb that they went to high school together, very interesting.. the bond shows in both their movies together, usual suspects, and now valkyrie

[jfoobar]

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Singer + McQuarrie > Cruise.

[Patman]

I was a little bored by this film (sure, it didn't help knowing the outcome) especially in the first half, but I think it's a combination of so-so directing, and a script that isn't that interesting. The pacing of the film also felt abrupt at times, and the sprawling size of the cast did little to provide a good enough hook for me to fully engage my attention given the stakes of the operation that would unfold in the film. The script just isn't strong enough to elicit a lot of suspense from me.

See it at a matinee if you're a WWII history buff.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

[jessecrx]

The characters aren't Germans immigrants living in the US speaking English with a German accent. They are pretending to be Germans in Germany speaking their native tongue, so there is no reason for an accent.


My thought's EXACTLY.

In fact at the beginning of the film you hear Cruise speaking in German and then fading into plain English. I took that as a sign from the director that we(the audience)assume that they were speaking German...just translated to English for our convenience.

As for the movie. My wife and I absolutely loved it. We were glued to the seats and to the screen the whole time...the rest of the theater was really into it as well, for not one person got up to pee or even made a sound during the quietest parts of the film.

When it ended all I heard was "I liked it" "wow, that was really good" etc etc.

A very pleasant surprise

[wlmowery]

My thought's EXACTLY.

In fact at the beginning of the film you hear Cruise speaking in German and then fading into plain English. I took that as a sign from the director that we(the audience)assume that they were speaking German...just translated to English for our convenience.

This was my thoughts as well. I thought they handled the language translation issues well. The opening has the text on screen in german and fading into english. The dialog does the same.

Overall, a good not great flick. This was 1 in a 3 movie marathon on the day after Christmas. Enjoyed the historical grandeur of some of the parts. Liked the tension in some scenes (even knowing how the whole thing turns out). Thought many of the supporting cast were excellent. Cruise did fine. A typical Cruise performance. Not awarding winning but effective.

I would give this a rating of B or B+.


PS: Biggeest distraction was the lady with the infant three seats down from us. Overall a well-behaved infant, but the hiccups for about 10 minutes sure were distracting. Then dad had to check his texts about 3/5ths of the way through the movie. I give this family a D-.

I still cannot fathom how someone can rationalize taking an infant to a theater. First, you cannot guarantee that the child will not become a distraction to others, even if the child is extremely well behaved. In this case the child was well behaved and only made noise during the hiccup incident. Had the family not been sitting next to our family, I may not have been disturbed, and many of those in our theater for this show undoubtedly were not distrubed by the child. However, they were sitting there, I was disturbed for a significant portion of the film, and I feel like this impacted my overall enjoyment of the film. I paid more money than the family with the infant (unless they paid for the infant, which I doubt) to see the film of my choice, and I have an expectation that I should be able to watch the film without the introduction of a potential serious distraction by third parties. Second, the volume levels in the theater may be damaging to an infants developing aural centers. I tested the pre-shows volume levels using a decibel meter (don't ask) and was getting a solid 70 during the "quiet" pre-show music and clips. During the explosion scenes, I would easily imagine decibel levels in excess of 95-105.

My 15 y/o daughter commented on the situation afterwords, as well. At least she seems to have learned some of the manners we tried to instill.