Post by RabbitDrive on Aug 3, 2009 0:02:39 GMT 10
Valkyrie
*****
The major issue in German war-time remakes appears to be that Americans can't see the logic of using German actors to play the fucking Germans. Sure every now and again a German name pops up and adds some realism, but the non-German actors didn't even try to put on an accent. In fact Bryan Singer seems to still be /so/ annoyed about the war that he felt the need to make a film where Germans lose to other Germans, before observantly noting before the credits that those Germans lost in the end too.
It started promisingly before attempting to drag the viewer in with planes and gun-fire, which was great, but it lead no-where in particular but to the rest of the first 20 minutes or so. Those 20 minutes of Valkyrie were the most boring 20 minutes of my entire life, and I soon found myself poking a rubber egg with a pencil and tying slinkies together with left over Christmas decorations.
It would also help if you happened to be deaf and able to lip-read, as the sound in the first few minutes varied from whispering to LOUD PLANEEEEEZZZZZZZ LOL. However from there, it did manage to get better as the plot began to unfurl and this allowed the anxiety to slowly seep in. (Though, if I'm honest, I think you'll find this would have been one of the first things we learnt about in school had it actually worked out, so knowing the outcome kind of brings the anxiety levels toppling down into a face full of shit.)
What would also have been good to see was a bit of colour. I mean, sure black appears to be “in”, but the least they could have done is make the movie black and white, instead of black and black. The outdoor scenes were the only bit of colour you could focus on, and the only primary colour you could really notice was the red on which the swastika stood. Just because the war wasn't a colourful little rainbow doesn't mean the audience needs to bring torches into the cinema with them.
Overall, a good storyline, based on a true story with everyone dying at the end. /Whoops. Did I ruin the climax?/ Ah well, I guess maybe you should go and rent something better on DVD instead then. Like Bambi.
*****
The major issue in German war-time remakes appears to be that Americans can't see the logic of using German actors to play the fucking Germans. Sure every now and again a German name pops up and adds some realism, but the non-German actors didn't even try to put on an accent. In fact Bryan Singer seems to still be /so/ annoyed about the war that he felt the need to make a film where Germans lose to other Germans, before observantly noting before the credits that those Germans lost in the end too.
It started promisingly before attempting to drag the viewer in with planes and gun-fire, which was great, but it lead no-where in particular but to the rest of the first 20 minutes or so. Those 20 minutes of Valkyrie were the most boring 20 minutes of my entire life, and I soon found myself poking a rubber egg with a pencil and tying slinkies together with left over Christmas decorations.
It would also help if you happened to be deaf and able to lip-read, as the sound in the first few minutes varied from whispering to LOUD PLANEEEEEZZZZZZZ LOL. However from there, it did manage to get better as the plot began to unfurl and this allowed the anxiety to slowly seep in. (Though, if I'm honest, I think you'll find this would have been one of the first things we learnt about in school had it actually worked out, so knowing the outcome kind of brings the anxiety levels toppling down into a face full of shit.)
What would also have been good to see was a bit of colour. I mean, sure black appears to be “in”, but the least they could have done is make the movie black and white, instead of black and black. The outdoor scenes were the only bit of colour you could focus on, and the only primary colour you could really notice was the red on which the swastika stood. Just because the war wasn't a colourful little rainbow doesn't mean the audience needs to bring torches into the cinema with them.
Overall, a good storyline, based on a true story with everyone dying at the end. /Whoops. Did I ruin the climax?/ Ah well, I guess maybe you should go and rent something better on DVD instead then. Like Bambi.