‘Valkyrie’, a movie based on the assassination attempt of Adolf Hitler in 1944 by his high-ranking army officers, premiered in the private screening room at the Time Warner Centre.
In the movie, Cruise plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the leader of the group plotting the assassination, and as documented historically, Stauffenberg fails to kill Hitler when a bomb he and his associates rigged blew up but was shielded by a table.
Levy has on his website given a description of the movie and the role Cruise played, adding in a paragraph that the leading role should have been given to someone else.
“Which brings me back to Tom Cruise, a uniquely American star, with a limited acting range, that might not have been the best choice for the role,” ‘Fox News’ reports him as having written.
“Even by standards of his own career, his performance in ‘Valkyrie’ would have to be considered feeble, and it may not be entirely his fault.
“As scripted and directed, Cruise's Stauffenberg goes through the motions of a thick plot (in both senses of the term), but seldom conveys the particular kind of man he was, what were his motivations, what was his family life like, what plans did he hold were the assassination to succeed,” he had stated.
Levy has a long history writing for major publications including Variety. His word is respected, even at the Golden Globes, a group that panders to movie stars to get them on their TV show.
“Arguably miscast, Cruise is stiff and unconvincing as the courageously heroic German officer. He speaks with a distinctly American accent, though early on, he utters a few sentences in German,” he had added.
