Valkyrie

Valkyrie, as field-commanded by director Bryan Singer, succeeds on its own terms as a handsome hybrid of conspiracy thriller and history lesson, of Mission: Impossible and The Day of the Jackal.

A historically respectful, morally careful film.

When he is at the top of his game, as he is here, Cruise's charisma is blinding.

A film more concerned with 'how' than 'why' or 'who', Valkyrie would have benefited from more scrutiny and complexity. Still, once the bomb goes off, the thrills come in spades.

Singer makes a noble and romantic fist of this terrific story but it feels spookily like a well-oiled Hollywood entertainment rather than a sensational chapter of history.

Director Bryan Singer has put together a fairly workable, old-fashioned second world war movie.

Valkyrie could be a stronger thriller but where it succeeds is in spreading awareness of the German Resistance.

It lacks the anticipated edge-of-your-seat experience, but it conveys the events with a cool ease and an admirable eye for detail.

Though it may not not the best WWII movie to premiere this year, it still supplies the thrills it promises.

Valkyrie isn't a disaster, but I'd rather have seen a different telling of the story.