Well, it looks like MGM might be out of luck this time. Their Tom Cruise/Nazi vehicle “Valkyrie,” which has been the subject of a massive and shifting marketing campaign, might not live up to the lofty expectations. In fact, this one might end up being more the hilarious comedy we had hoped for and less the thriller as which it’s currently being sold. According to the folks over at The Scoop (via /Film), Cruise’s performance in the film is anything but thrilling.
Apparently, much like his turn as studio head Les Grossman, Cruise is quite (unintentionally) amusing in “Valkyrie.” According to The Scoop, a particular scene wherein the actor is forced to salute Der Fuhrer is downright comical: “It’s an unsettling scene but you almost start to laugh…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.” Hmm…sounds kinda silly. Sources go on to claim that Cruise’s character later removes his false eye, which “…was disgusting, it was like watching someone pluck their contacts out.” Yikes.
Frankly, with Bryan Singer directing and Cruise in the lead role, there’s lots about this movie that is suspect. We still hope it will be in the vein of “The Usual Suspects,” but all the marketing strangeness and with a lot of eggs in this basket, the situation seems rife for disaster. As the Times reported, the studio spent at least $75 million on this thing, with some sources reporting up to $90 million. They also noted that the project was conceived between Cruise and longtime producing partner Paula Warner almost two years ago; in the intervening period Warner has left MGM and Cruise has scaled down his attention to production in hopes of relaunching his star as an actor. Thus, MGM chairman Harry E. Sloan has an extremely expensive star vehicle with a possibly fading lead actor, conceived by two people who are no longer calling any shots and a massive budget that needs to do well to ensure the studio can continue to attract talent. All we can say is good luck.