Valkyrie (PG-13) **

Botched plot a given, but botched casting, too?

In this image released by MGM, Tom Cruise portrays Claus von Stauffenberg, left, and Carice Van Houten portrays his wife, Nina, in "Valkyrie." Photo: AP/MGM, Frank Connor.

By Connie Ogle, The Miami Herald

Tom Cruise is not the only reason Bryan Singer's ambitious film about a real-life plot to murder Adolf Hitler doesn't live up to expectations. But the fact that the exceptionally American Cruise is never believable as German officer Claus von Stauffenberg remains the most difficult issue for the movie to overcome. And that eye patch -- historically accurate or not -- only makes matters worse.

The real Stauffenberg was a Roman Catholic aristocrat who grew increasingly disillusioned with the war and plotted to destroy the Nazi Party with a large cabal of other high-ranking officers. (The movie makes it seem as though you couldn't walk two goose steps across the Fatherland without running into an officer eager to commit high treason, which has the unfortunate effect of lessening the suspense.) The big cast is also part of the problem. The screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander introduces a seemingly endless series of characters, but there's no time to flesh any of them out enough to make you worry about their fate.

Instead, the talky script spends its time detailing the complicated plot to kill Hitler, which Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators hope will culminate when a suitcase bomb goes off in the Führer's private bunker.

Even the worst history student knows there was no successful attempt on Hitler's life (though there were quite a few of them). Still, knowing a story's end at the beginning doesn't prevent a filmmaker from eking out narrative tension. We all know the Titanic sank like a stone, and James Cameron had us biting our nails anyway. But in Valkyrie, we get a steady recitation of what's going to happen next. The film improves once the assassination attempt goes awry, but the audience is never truly invested in the actions of these heroic men.

Cast: Tom Cruise, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard

Director: Bryan Singer

Screenwriters: Christopher McQuarrie, Nathan Alexander

Producers: Gilbert Adler, Christopher McQuarrie, Bryan Singer

An MGM release. Running time: 120 minutes. Violence, brief strong language. Playing at area theaters.