Eddie Izzard

Bryan Singer’s ‘Valkyrie’ With Tom Cruise Mistakes Morose For Intense

BrianTT — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 09:05:00 -0700

Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Tom Cruise can be a powerfully vibrant actor in the right material but he’s horrendously miscast in Bryan Singer’s “Valkyrie,” a decision amplified by poor direction that drains this true story of an assassination attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler of its inherent power.

When he’s in the right material, like his great work in “Magnolia,” “Minority Report,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” and “Rainman,” Cruise can be impossible to take your eyes off. He’s a generally underrated actor who has watched his off-screen antics steal the thunder from his actual talent.

Having said that, he’s quite simply bad in “Valkyrie”. It’s arguably his worst performance. Cruise and Singer have mistaken being morose for being serious and have made a film that, consequently, ends up dull instead of intense. Cruise’s character needs to be the passionate lynchpin for one of the most infamous assassination attempts in world history, but the actor’s lack of on-screen resonance and Singer’s general weaknesses as a storyteller punch a hole in the potential of their story.

As World War II drew to a close, even officials close to Hitler knew that he was leading Germany and all of Europe down a very dangerous path. There were several attempts on his life. The most widespread and nearly effective attempt came in the summer of 1944 and was spearheaded by a recently-wounded soldier named Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise).

Assassinating someone as protected as Hitler would take a complex scheme, one that required that von Stauffenberg rewrite an official order known as ‘Valkyrie’, the document that determined the use of the reserve army in the case of a coup. With the help of Major-General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh), General Friedrick Olbricht (Bill Nighy), Ludwig Beck (Terence Stamp), and General Erich Fellgiebel (Eddie Izzard), von Stauffenberg put in a motion a plan that could have changed the world. In fact, if not for a last-minute location change, it probably would have.

The plot to kill Hitler involves over a dozen characters, explosives, and even a shoot-out. On paper, it should make for both a history lesson and an intense action ride for audiences around the world. On paper.

What’s most shocking about “Valkyrie” is how slow and dull the film ended up. The supporting cast alone, including the great Tom Wilkinson, Nighy, Branagh, Izzard, Stamp, and the stunning-but-wasted Carice van Houten should have been enough alone to give the movie a spark, but Singer lets them all down. The interesting supporting cast is the only reason to see “Valkyrie” and all that saves it from complete disaster.

Most damagingly, Singer and his cinematographer, Newton Thomas Sigel, shoot nearly everything in extreme, claustrophobic close-up, never giving the audience the sensation that we know exactly what’s going on and what’s at stake.

And writers Christopher McQuarrie & Nathan Alexander don’t provide nearly enough of a back story for any of their characters, as if filming a scene where von Stauffenberg writes an angry letter about Hitler and another where he’s injured in combat would be enough for us to get behind him as a lead. History makes it easy to support a lead trying to kill one of the most evil men in history, but imagine how much more effective “Valkyrie” would be if he was a fully, three-dimensional character of his very own.

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If “Valkyrie” was just an action movie, the lack of back stories wouldn’t be a problem, but it’s not effective as a thrill ride either. Cruise and Singer take themselves way too seriously for that. Singer can’t just make a historical drama or an action adventure movie, he has to make the best of both that anyone has ever seen. It’s that dull self-seriousness that sinks “Valkyrie”. It’s ironic that a film about an attempt that had some pretty serious flaws feels like its creators made a few mistakes of their own.

‘Valkyrie’ stars Tom Cruise, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, and Carice van Houten. ‘Valkyrie,’ which was written by Christopher McQuarrie & Nathan Alexander and directed by Bryan Singer, opened in Chicago on December 25, 2008.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Packed With Picturesque Majesty, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ Fights Nobly For ‘PG’ Rating

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:32:38 -0600

CHICAGO – For the life of me, I couldn’t exorcise it from my head. Amid all the splendor of such a picturesque film, this one question was like a gnat I couldn’t swat: “Is this really rated ‘PG’?” Indeed, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” is rated “PG”. But that didn’t come without great scrutiny and much editing.

Liam Neeson (the voice of the lion Aslan) along with Georgie Henley (right) in “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”.
Photo credit: IMDb

For starters, Walt Disney Pictures contractually required the filmmakers for the epic film to achieve a “PG” rating. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) granted it following a wide array of amendments.

For example, director Andrew Adamson (who also directed “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” in 2005, “Shrek 2” in 2004 and “Shrek” in 2001 and wrote “Shrek the Third” in 2007) changed a scene with a fallen helmet to make certain it didn’t contain a decapitated head, according to the Los Angeles Times on May 4, 2008.

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After showing the film to young audiences and gauging their reactions, Adamson in fact made copious edits. Adamson said in a May 15, 2008 interview published on NarniaWeb.com:

“When you sit down and you’re watching it and you see the kids’ faces while making the film, you’re just making an attempt. You’re making it exciting. You’re doing all these things because you’re essentially making the film for yourself. When you start showing it to an audience, that then influences how you feel about the film.”

While the “PG” rating for the recently released “Speed Racer” felt more like an opportune financial decision, the rating for “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” instead felt an appropriate artistic decision. Props go to Disney and Adamson for pushing its importance.

Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian in “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”.
Photo credit: IMDb

Despite “Troy”-like fight scenes, this was nothing like the ingenious bloodshed in “300” or the blood-spattering good time in “Gladiator”. In fact, aside from a dribble on a face or two here and there, there was no blood at all. As well, much of the brutality was implied.

Instead of swinging a sword and showing the final result, the film merely illuminated the intent without the follow through.

The decision didn’t detract from the purpose in the slightest, and along with making it more appropriate for younger audiences, it issued a renewed faith that Hollywood can spit out a money-generating product without having to spew gallons of blood and blow stuff up.

The MPAA says a “PG” film “should be investigated by parents before they let their younger children attend. The rating indicates … that parents may consider some material unsuitable for their children and parents should make that decision. There may be some profanity and some depictions of violence or brief nudity.”

By the way, “Speed Racer” thus far has proven to be a whopping financial failure. On a production budget of $120 million, the film as of May 16, 2008 has only grossed about $40 million in box-office receipts in its first six days of release, according to Box Office Mojo. “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” should fare better.

The casting decisions were also a critical element here and proved refreshingly admirable. The lead actors – Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian and the four children who played the young kings and queens (Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell) – were relative unknowns.

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You may vaguely remember Barnes, though, as the young Dunstan Thorn in Matthew Vaughn’s “Stardust” from 2007. While the foursome were plucked back into “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” in 2005, they have long and storied careers ahead.

The brilliantly diminutive Peter Dinklage (“The Station Agent”) is bold in his Narnian role as a dwarf. Perhaps even more pleasantly refreshing is the film’s decision to use larger-name talent in either cameo or voice roles.

Eddie Izzard voices the mouse Reepicheep), Liam Neeson voices the towering lion Aslan, and though not credited in IMDb, Tilda Swinton indeed has a cameo as The White Witch.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” opened everywhere on May 16, 2008.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com