Tom Cruise is said to be less than believable as a renegade Nazi in the historic thriller Valkyrie, due out this Christmas. Courtney Hazlett at MSNBC’s The Scoop has advance details from a screening attendee who says that Cruise is laughable in the lead and that the film is as difficult to watch as the trailers make it seem.
MGM’s marketing team is working hard to convince audiences that their oft-delayed Tom Cruise vehicle “Valkyrie” is a thriller and not the chatfest “Lions for Lambs” was. But those who’ve gotten an early glimpse say not only is the film nowhere near as exciting as a thriller, but Cruise’s performance elicits uncomfortable and inappropriate laughs.
Among them: A scene where Cruise’s character, Claus Von Stauffenberg, is forced to give the infamous “Heil Hitler” salute. “It’s an unsettling scene but you almost start to laugh,” the source says. “His character is resisting it but you never forget it’s Tom Cruise saying ‘Heil Hitler.’ It’s funny and shocking at the same time.”
Sources also described a scene where Cruise’s character Claus Von Stauffenberg removes a false eye. “It was disgusting,” said one person who saw the film. “It was like watching someone pluck their contacts out.”
“The film just isn’t a thriller at all” said one “Valkyrie” viewer. “It’s a bunch of white guys in Nazi uniforms. It’s too bad. And Tom doesn’t speak with a German accent — though they did add a voiceover of him speaking German to the beginning of the film. Still, it’s as if he could say ‘I complete you’ at any time. This is not his Oscar moment.”
[From MSNBC]
I found it off putting when I first saw the trailers a few weeks ago and noticed that no one was speaking in a German accent. Many of you mentioned that there are plenty of other films where the actors don’t attempt the accents, but to me it’s a lot less authentic. What’s more is that Valkyrie has a mix of British and American accents for the actors trying to play Germans. Every actor has their natural accent, and it just seems sloppy for an historical film.
If this film does come out at Christmas (and we’ll have to see if it’s delayed yet again because the Christmas release was only announced right after Cruise’s partner, Paula Wagner, left United Artists) it will face stiff competition from Marley and Me and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I know which two films I’d rather see, and I doubt I’ll ever catch more than 15 minutes of Valkyrie on DVD. There are just some sacrifices I won’t make for this job.
Photos are stills from Valkyrie including one production photo thanks to Allmoviephoto.
Nothing says “Merry Christmas!” like a bunch of Nazis trying to kill Hitler…
Ugh. This looks like absolute CRAP.
ETA: It could’ve been a really cool movie were it not for Cruise. I mean, there is some ridiculous talent in this film. Kenneth Branagh, hello?
Again, it’s still better than listening to a cast of “vee haff veys of makings you tawk!” 😉
I still want to see it as the set design looks amazing and apart from Tom the cast is absolutely top notch. Keep an eye out for Carice Von Houten, who plays von Stauffenberg’s wife. She was amazing in another WW2 film “The Black Book”
(that film is a good little thriller, even though it has it’s flaws but it probably will be the closest comparison to Valkyrie)
NO! This is such a surprise! How can that be? Tom Cruise a bad actor?
Oh the horror! 8)
Yeah, I’d still give it a go (but on dvd) for the cast and what I saw of the very beautiful and atmospheric backdrop in the earlier clips. Cruise really seems to have lost it. Just bad choices/ego or has scientology finally sucked every last drop of creative juice out of him?
Oh well, ne’mind eh, Tom. Barbara Walters still finds you fascinating. 😛
Mairead – I agree. I like it when all the characters from the same country have the same accent, though. If they were all British accents (even though the characters are German), that’s perfectly fine with me. In watching that preview, I get all caught up in the beautiful timbre and rhythm of Branagh’s English, and I’m slapped out of it every time I hear Cruise’s flat, completely out of place American Midwest tone.
I’m not sure why the British accent works for me in period pieces…I suppose it just sounds ‘serious’ and ‘poetic’. I dunno…
being an ex-brit I am very into european history. what a laughable disappointment. This is Cruise playing his hero version of Cruise. For a good movie you have to believe in the character. There is no character-it is Cruise being Cruise in a movie. So sorry that the real actors will be overlooked becasue of him, as I for one will not waste my time.
Jen love, we’ve already heard Tom’s attempts at a random Oirish “to be sure and begorrah” accent, give me his normal accent anyday over a cringe-worthy Mockney (mock-Cockney) or psuedo-posh British accent. 😉
I don’t particularly mind the international accents as within any country you’re going to get really different accents from different regions anyway, and this is ironically more representative than one generic cod-German accent throughout.
I’ve also heard some good advance buzz about this movie. MSNBC seems to have spoken to one or two people who didn’t like it, and then let fly.
I have no idea whether or not the movie is any good, but I do give Cruise credit for not re-making the same RomCom and/or action movie again and again. He’s willing to take on challenging and unpopular roles: not many leading men are willing to walk around in a Nazi uniform. Brad Pitt, I recall, completely disguised the Nazi sympathies of his character in “Seven Years in Tibet.”
Meanwhile, the entire Luftwaffe could not force me into seeing “Marley and Me.”
Tom Cruise is less than believable as a human being; I’m not surprised that he flops in this movie. The one truly outstanding movie he’s in (IMO only) where I can forget he’s a wack job and enjoy the film is The Last Samurai.
LOL CandyKay 😆 I couldn’t be paid to see Marley & Me either!
It looked good till they started talking.
Are German actors so hard to find?
The movie has been pushed back from release 3 times (that I’ve heard anyway, correct me if I’m wrong) so it must be a steaming turd.
*not wading into the accent debate*
This movie has a seriously good cast. It’s such a shame about Xenu on a Zebra.
Sidenote: Why in the world is Kenneth Brannagh stuck playing a character part in a Cruise film? His career hasn’t panned out the way he thought, huh?
Being a Midwesterner and not wanting to be tarred with the Cruise brush, I’d like to point out that he is from New York state and that he does not have a “flat, completely out of place American Midwest tone.” Midwestern accents tend to be more of a drawl.
You could not pay me to see this movie. Maybe someday it will come on some obscure cable channel and it will be one of those days when there is nothing else on, and I’ll catch a little bit of it before snuggling down under the afghan for a nap.
If they really cared about making this movie properly they would make all the actors speak German and have subtitles. Laziness, laziness.
Even if everyone were to keep their normal accents (and frankly I wouldn’t care either way), I’d think they could have at least spoken bit more…hm, “older”? “Theatrically”?
Modern diction and cadence isn’t *quite* the same as 60+ years ago. Hasn’t changed dramatically or anything, but the actors here are speaking in modern “normal” voices and it doesn’t quite fit. One can enunciate a bi differently and still not sound like you’re slapping on an accent.
yes, his accent clearly does not work in this film but my question is when is he going to have his nasal cavities cleared? i think he needs to see an ENT and have his deviated septums looked at. i find his nasally voice so annoying especially scenes when he is whispering.
He’s a dud in real life too. Never thought he was a good actor…..
I’d rather watch a zombie than watch Tom Cruise…so tired of Tom Cruise and his wife miss goody-twoshoes,and Mr.so called hunk Brad and his ohh-so angel angelina blah blah blah…time to move on with some true people who do not use their kids or charities,or their life style to use media to get attention in order to stay in public eye!
‘Valkyrie’ for Christmas opening? What they couldn’t get a re-release of ‘Night and Fog’?
Okay, a little off topic, but one of THE best Nazi-related movies I’ve seen is ‘Sophie Scholl: the Last Days’/’Die Letzten Tag’. It’s about the White Rose student movement. If you want to see a REAL movie of resistance, see this one. It’s a German film with English subtitles. It’s beautifully shot, acted and powerfully understated.
Some quotes from Cruise in Valkyrie:
“I have the need…the need for schnapps!”
“You had me at ‘Heil Hitler!”
“Show me the deutschmarks!”
Baholicious,
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I’m actually relieved to hear that he doesn’t attempt a German accent in this movie, because that would have been truly cringeworthy. I thought that since he’s wearing the eyepatch and all, that maybe it would be possible to suspend disbelief and forget he’s Tom Cruise…guess not!
P.S. What’s with him and icky eyeball scenes, anyway? I think it was Minority Report where he got the eyeball transplant, wasn’t it? 😛
Will do CB – I know it’s random words and I’ll settle down 🙂
Did we expect it to be anything other than a dud with Cruise so poorly miscast? Syko is right, he has far from a midwestern accent. I live in the midwest as well, as Cruise is anything but.
The oddest part is all the actors around him with light or thick “British” accents and then Tom with American accent with frat boy cadence.
This movie may have had more potential with an actor that could fake a german or even British accent so the movie could at least flow correctly with the accents.
I have seen some dailies from this movie and they just aren’t that good. This is a role that Tom wanted to do and got it pushed through. He is too close to the project and could not view this objectively. He is not right for this role. And the accent thing is troubling, it just seems very hap hazard. Tom has a big fan base but I don;t know if they are going to be interested in a movie about Nazi’s at Christmas……
Cruise is just a dud period…a la Chris’s comment…I wouldn’t go to this movie if they paid me…on the other hand maybe I’ll take my husband who’s a bit of WW nut eat popcorn and have a laugh…
I NEVER understood all the hoopla and serious hero worship surrounding Tom Cruise. He’s an overpaid B actor with a short man complex which bleeds into everything he does.
There is too much great talent to see and appreciate out there. Who would waste another dollar to see TC?
Syko – I consider myself part of the Midwest, but maybe accent-wise, I’m not. I’m from the Great Lakes region, and his accent sounds a lot like mine.
And I agree with whoever said his voice is nasally…not appealing.
I agree with Celebitchy. The German accents were essential for authenticity. What a major flub.
Okay, I’m no film critic, but I didn’t think the trailer made this movie look that bad. I mean, I know it’s fashionable to slam Cruise and all, but it doesn’t look any dumber than “War of the worlds” I think it’s more an issue that nobody takes Cruise seriously, and that kind of taints any project he’s involved in.
I wonder if the other actors feel some sort of betrayal, that Tom pushed to be in this movie, and now, because of people’s distaste for Tom(the current popular pile on)they and the movie will be marginalized from the fallout?