Valkyrie: Mission Impossible

By Lindsey Horner

Picture this: Tom Cruise and Nazis.
If that combo has got your history nerd side excited (because admit it, we all have one), then director Bryan Singer's Valkyrie ​(2008) is just the movie for you.

In Valkyrie, Tom Cruse plays Claus von Stauffenberg, a main conspirator in an assassination plot against Adolf Hitler.

Inspired by true events, Valkyrie follows the story of Wehrmacht Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) as he joins, and then leads, a conspiracy to rid Germany of Nazi ruler Adolf Hitler through a well-organized and calculated assassination plot. The film depicts real-life events that transpired before, during, and after July 20, 1944, the day the conspirators led their coup on main leaders of the Reich. Their conspiracy involved using the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to shift powers and take control of the country.

Stauffenberg (Cruise) prepares his men to fight the Royal Air Force during a raid in Northern Africa.

After being badly injured during a Royal Air Force Raid in Tunisia and losing his right hand, two fingers on his left hand, and his left eye, the colonel is sent home to Nazi Germany. Now sporting an eye patch, survivor's guilt, and questioning the trajectory of the war, the German officer comes to the heavy realization that in order for Germany to truly survive, major changes must take place within the Motherland's inner structure, starting with the ruling authority.

You never know who you can trust: While Major General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) was one of the conspirators against Hitler, Colonel Heinz Brandt (Tom Hollander) was one of Hitler's loyal aids.

Along for the ride are other German officers such as Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh), General Friedrich Olbricht (Bill Nighy), General Ludwig Beck (Terence Stamp), Dr. Carl Goerdeler (Kevin McNally), and Erwin von Witzleben (David Schofield) who agree that in order to save their country, they must destroy it from the inside first. 

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (left) and actor Tom Cruise (right). The resemblance was one of the main reasons Cruise decided to take the role.

One of the reasons why I was so pleased with this movie was Singer's extreme attention to historical detail. Actors were hired who closely resembled their roles, and Cruise especially poured over Stauffenberg's story, wanting to honor the man's true patriotism and sacrifice through this adaptation. Much of the filming took place in Germany on the same pieces of land where the events actually occurred decades earlier. All those involved with the making of the movie wanted it to be as historically accurate as possible, and the end result is gorgeous and thought-provoking; a movie that is stunningly real.

Stauffenberg (Cruise) and the other consirators are well aware of the personal sacrifices they'll be making if for some reason their plan doesn't work.

While Valkyrie isn't a well-known movie, it's still an important film to watch. It depicts a painful past while offering a glimmer of hope. Despite the movie ending with a firing squad, Stauffenberg's last words - "Long live sacred Germany!" - give the audience a sense of optimism even after his figure falls. Even in the midst of genocide and corruption, there will always be individuals who rise up to take action against oppression, no matter the personal cost. Claus von Stauffenberg was one of them, and his legacy now serves as an example for future generations.