Valkyrie

What do Bryan Singer and Spinal Tap have in common? They like it loud. Really loud. Valkyrie turns it up to 11 as it opens with a deafening mix of explosions, propellers, and automatic rifles. The Tunisian desert sets the scene for Tom Cruise, as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, to tread familiar territory as he do-goods his way through the film as a disaffected Nazi officer who harbours a deep distaste for Adolf Hitler and all that he stands for. As von Stauffenberg allies himself with a resistance faction of high ranking Nazi officials, they conspire to end Hitler’s reign once and for all.

Cruise and the supporting cast (in particular Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard) put in a decent shift, but for all of the noise and bombast that Singer orchestrates, Valkyrie suffers from a complete absence of suspense. The film is at a loss as to how to generate an atmosphere of menace, personified by the inert and clumsy portrayal of Hitler himself. Singer could do with turning it down a notch. [Ray Philp]