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-- Valkyrie -- This fact-based drama, about a failed conspiracy among highly placed members of the German Army and aristocracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler as the tide of World War II turns against the Nazis, has all the elements needed to be a top-notch thriller. Unfortunately, something that should have been an asset ends up being a liability: star and executive producer Tom Cruise.
Cruise attempts, with very limited success, to portray Col. Claus von Stauffenberg. A decorated soldier and compassionate leader to his men, von Stauffenberg disliked Hitler from the start and made no secret of his contempt.
As Hitler’s strategy takes stranger and stranger turns and the Allies come closer to invading Europe, von Stauffenberg is approached by other Hitler opponents who believe the only way prevent their nation from being reduced to rubble is to kill Hitler and “sue” for peace.
Utilizing a web of conspirators, von Stauffenberg puts together a plan that seems, for a few hours, to rest power from the Fuehrer. A few small flaws however doom the plan and the plotters. This movie suffers the same fate.
First and foremost, Cruise lacks the depth to make his Nazi colonel believable. He never attempts even the slightest of German accents and fails to muster the commanding personality someone like von Stauffenberg would need to even begin to pull off the complex plot.
Cruise seems even less effective when you realize he’s surrounded by the cream of British acting talent in supporting roles. Terrence Stamp (Yes Man), Kenneth Branagh (Henry V), Bill Nighy (Love, Actually), Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton), even Eddie Izzard (Ocean’s Thirteen) inhabit their roles more realistically than Cruise.
Director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) paces the film fairly well and manages to build some suspense, even though we know the plot’s ending. Singer and screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie (Oscar winner for Suspects) and Nathan Alexander fail to build von Stauffenberg into a compelling, tragic figure. The script also ignores a crucial point: why did it take these self-described “good Germans” so long to organize and rise up against Hitler?
Without a strong lead performance, Valkyrie becomes another could-have-been, instead of what it should have been, a taut and gripping thriller. That’s what you get when you go forward on “Cruise control.”
The Blu-Ray edition of the film includes short documentaries on the actual Valkyrie plot, the transition of the story from page to screen and commentary tracks featuring Cruise, Singer, McQuarrie and Alexander. The Special Edition DVD includes a second disc with a digital copy of the film.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense scenes of war violence and profanity.
Joe’s Rating: Two and One-Half (** ½) Stars.

Also released on May 19:
-- Paul Blart: Mall Cop --This comedy, starring and cowritten by former King of Queens star Kevin James, spoofs Die Hard and similar action adventure films.
Blart (James) is a security guard in a New Jersey mall who longs to be a police officer, but can’t pass the physical. When an armed gang invades the mall near the end of the first big Christmas shopping day and kicks out all the customers, Blart is trapped inside.
He decides to do his duty and try and round up the robbers.
Broadly amusing, with a couple of sizable laughs here and there, Mall Cop is much easier on the taste buds and funny bone than Seth Rogen’s somewhat similar and much more revolting Observe and Report.
Extras on the DVD and Blu-Ray include deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes hijinks.
MPAA Rating: PG for mildly crude humor and mild profanity.
Joe’s Rating: Two (**) Stars.

-- Fanboys --The release of the new Star Trek movie is likely to kick up the on-going disagreement between deeply devoted Trek and Star Wars fans over which is the better franchise.
This low-budget buddy comedy, set in 1998, follows the adventures of a quartet of “nerdy” Star Wars fans who create a plan to break into George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch and see The Phantom Menace six months before it opens. The plan has an added urgency as one of the members of the group has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
While the plot goes for every easy gag and pulls every heart string it can, there’s a goofy sincerity to the overall effort that makes it watchable.
Cameos from Seth Rogen, Will Farrell and one significant player from each of the beloved series add to the fun, as does Kristen Bell’s (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) work as Zoe, the only female member of the gang.
Fanboys is also available in the Blu-Ray format. MPAA Rating: PG-13 for drug and sexual content, mild profanity and some crude humor.
Joe’s Rating: Two (**) Stars.

Joe Barber’s entertainment reports and reviews can be heard Fridays through Sundays on the WTOP Radio Network . He can be seen regularly on WETA-TV’s Around Town.