Valkyrie's been on the Next Attraction boards lately, so it's time to make a decision on whether or not it should be watched. Because on one hand, it's Bryan Singer(!), but on the other it's Tom Cruise in an Oscar-bait role. It seems Mr. Cruise has not yet learned that he is at his best when he plays the resident A-hole. Just like his ex-wife has not yet learned that she is not as brilliant at playing the ingénue than she is at playing the ice queen on the verge of a breakdown (see: Margot at the Wedding, The Hours).
But it's Bryan Singer. Forgive Superman Returns for a moment, as he was clearly trying to fit in one too many epic storylines and metaphors for an action movie: Bryan gave X-Men and X2 wicked levels of awesome. Action movies with brains, yes?
So with Valkyrie I'm skeptical. Because the reviews have been mixed, and, you know, WWII movie. Can go either way.
(sidebar: how awesome was Ricky Gervais to address Kate Winslet and giving a shout out to Extras at the Golden Globes?)
And it's Bryan Singer directing a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie. One of the times these two collaborated resulted in The Usual Suspects, which introduced this particular fanatic to Benicio del Toro. I don't think my viewing preferences were ever quite the same since watching that movie.
And while I understand that it's not easy to recapture that kind of magic, I'm skeptical that it can be done with Tom Cruise.
Sigh. I'll probably watch the thing, depending on the pix of Kenneth Branagh in it.
After the jump, Bryan Singer introduces us to five criminals. Enjoy.
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