Tom Cruise is one of those actors who can't shake a youthful image. When one thinks of him, one thinks of All The Right Moves, Top Gun, even Taps as the young brat packer. Of all the young players of the Eighties labeled the Brat Pack, Cruise has had the most staying power by far.

In Valkyrie, Cruise holds his own with some classically trained players from across the pond like Terrence Stamp, Kenneth Branagh, and Tom Wilkinson. These folks in varying degrees participate in the plot named Operation Valkyrie to assassinate Adolph Hitler and hopefully bring about a short conclusion of the war.

Working against them was the unconditional surrender policy agreed to by the Allies. Everyone well remembered Hitler's skillful use of the betrayal issue that came about in that interregnum between the Armistice and the Versailles Treaty. The Allies wanted Germany beaten with no doubt about it this time around.

And they would have had to have bagged a whole gang of them, Himmler, Goering, Goebbels, Bormann etc. for it to work. Nobody on the Allied side would have dealt with any of these specimens. In fact when they did break the policy and negotiate a surrender with Marshal Pietro Badoglio and due to circumstances to lengthy to go into here, the objective was not accomplished and we had a yard by yard war up the Italian peninsula instead of a quick surrender.

Cruise let's face it is not a brat packer any more. In fact he's roughly the age that Stauffenberg was when he became the point man for bombing on July 20, 1944. He even looks a bit like him. There's also a trace of the German aristocratic air about him that Stauffenberg was. Claus von Stauffenberg did come from an old Catholic aristocratic family with a military tradition who saw the Nazis as parvenus. But it was hard to argue with Hitler's early military success, especially for a military man.

The performance really to watch here is that of Tom Wilkinson who is a really oily individual as General Fromm who was trying so hard to keep himself in good with both sides so he could come out on top. As for what happened to him, watch a very worthwhile film to find out.

Despite the fact that we all know the eventual outcome of this film, VALKYRIE turns out to be a great film, featuring great performances from an ensemble cast and a script that wrings maximum suspense out of the tense true story that it's based upon.

Tom Cruise might not be everybody's choice as a battle-scarred German officer desperate to do away with Hitler, but I liked his performance; he underplays it for the most part, as do the rest of the cast. Bill Nighy is career-best, doing away with the hammy mannerisms usually blighting his roles, and there are nice parts for Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp and even Eddie Izzard to get their teeth into. Yes, Carice van Houten is wasted but then you can't have everything.

One thing I was unsure about was this film's portrayal of Hitler, which was going to be tough after Bruno Gans did such a good job in DOWNFALL. When I realised ROME's David Bamber (an actor usually known for his comedic roles) was tackling the role, I wasn't sure what to think, but he acquits himself well with the part and is unrecognisable for the most part.

The film gradually builds suspense and tension despite the inevitability of the climax and never resorts to flashy special effects or action scenes to keep the viewers watching. That's why I recommend it: a resolutely old-fashioned slice of wartime thrills and Bryan Singer's best movie by far.

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) is disillusioned with Hitler and the war. He abhors the atrocities committed by the SS. He is severely injured in North Africa. Major-General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) is the military leader of a coup but his attempt to kill Hitler fails. General Friedrich Olbricht (Bill Nighy) recruits von Stauffenberg who comes up with a plan to use Operation Valkyrie which is set up to maintain order after the death of Hitler. They need the head of the reserve army General Friedrich Fromm (Tom Wilkinson) to order Valkyrie while they try to rewrite the operational manual so that the SS won't interfere with the coup.

Director Bryan Singer brings a solid workmanship to the production. Tom Cruise's reserved acting lacks a certain excitement. The story is told competently. It could easily be lost in the labyrinth of characters but the awesome cast is able to give each character his due. I'm also glad Singer didn't try to have the cast do fake German accents. The movie does lack the thrills but it still has a low-burning intensity.