Since the Second World War, directors have reached for the image of the Nazi as a source of simple, morally objectionable antagonists. From Michael Curtiz’s seminal Casablanca and George Lucas’ original Indiana Jones films, right through to Guillermo Del Toro’s 2004 fantasy Hellboy, the presence of Nazis on film are visual shorthand for all that is evil and underhanded.

And it’s squarely at this stereotype that Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie is aimed. The film tells the story of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), a senior member of the Wermacht who joins the doomed plot to assassinate Hitler, and seize power using the ‘Valkyrie’ contingency plans.

While the thought of Tom Cruise as the heroic German army plotter might sting of titanic Hollywood mistreatment, casting the A-list actor against type works spectacularly. This is Cruise at his most raw and furious, a Cruise we haven’t seen since 1999’s Magnolia. His von Stauffenberg is a complex creation. He is a patriot, but an enemy of the Nazi regime, a loving husband and father and a soldier committed to doing whatever is necessary to save his beloved Germany.

With the exception of Cruise’s casting, Singer’s film never gives in to the ‘Hollywood’ treatment so typical of other World War Two films. Aside from a brutal desert attack in the opening scenes, and the infamous bomb at the film’s heart, Valkyrie is a film of dramatic, rather than actual, explosions.

This is a secretive struggle, waged in the corridors of power instead of the battlefields. Under Singer’s deft direction, every conversation and untimely door knock flares with hidden menace, and the heroic German resistance remain dignified and wholly sympathetic as they creep closer to their tragic end, thanks to a stellar supporting cast.

However, there are boundaries that Singer does not overstep in his portrayal of the Germans. The appearance of Adolf Hitler is a constantly chilling one, marked by a swell of sinister strings from composer John Ottman and low, awkward camera angles. In Valkyrie he becomes a wholly monstrous figure, and a brilliant moral contrast to our doomed heroes.

Here, Bryan Singer and his hoard of Hollywood heavyweights have crafted a big budget thriller that intelligently examines the role of the heroes who took a stand against Hitler, without leavening their story with unnecessary action or melodrama.

DVD Extras: two audio commentaries, ‘Valkyrie Legacy’ documentary, behind-the-scenes ‘Journey To Valkyrie’ documentary.

Valkyrie is out now on DVD and Blu-ray

By Philip Reynolds