Directed by: Bryan Singer

Starring: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp

Rated: R (for brief violence, brief adult language)

Running time: 120 minutes

Best suited for: history and Cruise buffs

Least suited for: bloody battlefield seekers

War films have tanked lately (too much of the real thing?) and some of the smarter pseudo-war flicks ("The Kingdom," "Charlie Wilson's War") have sought to replace combat carnage with political intrigue. "Valkyrie" is one such film, more thriller than bloodbath and less Tom Cruise, superstar, than Tom Cruise, working actor in a solid role.

In a nutshell (and because I've heard this from various passing whispers), the movie is "better than I expected."

Cruise plays Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, an officer in Hitler's German army and one of numerous career soldiers who despised Hitler and his policies. Of the number of attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler, von Stauffenberg's was for me the most well-known. For those of us aware of the incident, the film suffers from a lack of surprise (like reading the last page of a mystery novel first), but for anyone unaware of the elaborate scheme, "Valkyrie" holds up as a first-rate thriller.

Late in the war, Operation Valkyrie was a German plan to safeguard Berlin from advancing Allied armies. Von Stauffenberg and his cohorts deduced that, by trickery, Berlin could likewise be cut off from Hitler's own loyal forces if Hitler were dead (or even presumed dead) and the SS blamed for the attempted coup.

In the summer of 1944, Germany could then negotiate a more favorable surrender, release prisoners from concentration camps (the extermination centers that, at least in the film, contributed to von Stauffenberg's contempt of Hitler) and save millions of lives.

"Valkyrie" appears relatively true to those historic records I've been able to peruse. That accuracy only accentuates the film's tension, which nicely escalates once the wounded and highly decorated von Stauffenberg returns to Berlin and gains Hitler's trust.

In 1944, on the edge of madness and despair, Hitler was a man feared by even his toughest generals. The film uses that shroud of terror to torque the emotions of those involved in the plot.

In the moments surrounding the question of Hitler's survival, one can only wonder about the possible links to the outcome of history. And, without giving too much away, those interested in any of "Valkyrie's" unanswered questions can check out www.Wikipedia.org to see how a multitude of minute variables could have so greatly altered the last two generations.

For me, leaving a theater with numerous "What if?" questions swimming around my head indicates a thoughtful and provocative effort, nicely done.