I saw the trailer for VALKYRIE this week on the big screen for the first time and I have to say, it just heightens my previous fears that Tom Cruise is so not right for this World War II picture. He is bringing his intense acting gig, which of course we expect from him and he’s perfected it down the years but in this environment it makes him look camp and ridiculous.
Maybe it’s that damn eye patch, the stiffness of his line delivery, the decision not to use an accent or the uniform. I don’t know what it is but none of Cruise works in this film.
He brings far too much attention to himself. It’s a Tom Cruise vehicle, that shouldn’t be a Tom Cruise vehicle. He is the odd American coming to a fully packed dinner of established and distinguished Brits but the sad thing is, he is suppose to be the German. It’s an awful casting and career choice quite frankly and that’s coming from a huge Cruise fan.
I think we have become more sophisticated with our World War II pictures in this decade to allow Hollywood to get away with productions like this. We want to see actors talking in their characters own accent and language, when classic movies like DOWNFALL exist I really don’t think Hollywood has any excuse not to hire actors who are either willing to learn another language or to actually hire German actors in the first place for the roles of Germans.
For some reason that logic doesn’t work in Tinseltown. Ah yes, money you say. Who wants to see a German play a German when you can have Tom Cruise do it?
It’s not like there isn’t a load of really great German actors out there right now, many of which Quentin Tarantino has plucked up for INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. They are everywhere and putting in some fantastically solid work time and time again.
After last year’s massive failure LIONS FOR LAMBS, another dissapointing Cruise led vehicle is not going to be good for his failing career. A short dance in TROPIC THUNDER isn’t enough for the Cruise-meister to stop this quick descent into obscurity.
Some figures are estimating the budget for VALKYRIE to have exceeded $100 million which I can tell you right now, it won’t come anywhere near to reclaiming. As the New York Times point out, at 46… Cruise as a tentpole lead is becoming something of a tired gig and his studio United Artists and him as an actor would look like box office poison if this fails to make it’s money back.
Now I’ve said what Cruise needs to do. I’ve said it for well over a year now, to win back the hearts of the public he needs to do a romantic comedy. The public perception of Cruise because of his personal religious affiliations and home life have never been lower, he needs to win us back by making himself likelable, funny and relatable.
Relatable probably being key. He should have called Judd Apatow a year ago and said “write something for me” and surround himself closely with the Seth Rogen/Paul Rudd crowd and see what comes of it.
Going ahead with a MISSION IMPOSSIBLE IV, as much fun as that would be, would just see Cruise back in the
same place he was in two years ago. And the same goes for the thrillers THE TOURIST (which looks favourite to be his next movie, co-starring Charlize Theron) and EDWIN A. SALT (which was given to Angelina Jolie when Paramount were worried over Cruise’s marketability), these star vehicles won’t help. We are burnt out on seeing Cruise save the world.
Nothing gets people back on your side quite like a relaxing performance in a romantic comedy. Give Judd a call, or hell, I’m sure Cameron Crowe would love to work with you again. Boy do I miss the Cruise of JERRY MAGUIRE, such a shame there isn’t many out there who can use Cruise as well as Crowe can.
7 Comments
There is absolutely no reason for this film to not be in German. What a waste.
I’ve been saying the same for many a month — Cruise needs movies that will build his likeability quotient but he keeps trying to do the Uber-human thing.
Right now, he’s swimming in a lake of hate. Thrash around in it and he drowns. Needs to counter with love.
PS: If the reviews flail on Valkyrie, it’ll be a big fat bust. If they are good, it’ll just lose a bunch of money.
Matt,
I disagree. I must say that the recent trailer for Valkerie actually looks good, focuses more on it being a war movie and less of a Tom Cruise vehicle. But I agree that a Judd Apatow flick would be good for him.
‘Everyman’ Cruise is, I’m quite glad to say, about to get exactly what has been coming to him for the length of his career. ‘Valkerie’ will hopefully divebomb at the box office and Cruise will be forced to admit his own irrelevance as an actor who’s sole criteria for selecting a role involves becoming a man who saves the world.
We know the man can act, and actually act very well – ‘Magnolia’ for god’s sake! – but his career choices have so far seen him play only roles that he thinks will make him look good 99% of the time. He refuses to take risks, refuses to look bad (with the exception of ‘Magnolia’, again, and ‘Tropic Thunder’) and refuses to take on roles that would demand of him diversity and effort.
Hollywood just isn’t your house anymore, Tom.
about the accent thing, its much better that he isn’t putting on an accent because you just assume he’s talking german. it would make less sense if he was talking english but with a german accent because it would mean that he was speaking english to all his nazi friends. And as far as i can tell none of the other actors have a german accent either so it was probably a creative descicion by the director anyway (see ‘marie antoinette’).
The language issue is an interesting one- while I understand layla’s comment of it not really being necessary to assume accents, I think we need only look at the classic Allo Allo TV series to see where it works. Of course it worked mostly as an exceptional comic device, but it also actually served to remind the audience that they are being invited into something ‘other’ that they wouldnt usually be allowed access to.
But then one need only look at Funny Games (US version) to see that American audiences still arent yet ready to accept things as complex as somebody speaking a different language. After all, a lot of the acclaim attached to ‘Downfall’ came with the suffix “…even though it’s in foreign”.
My man Eddie Izzard’s in it though, so I shall be watching it regardless.
In the words of Roger Ebert…
Never review a trailer.