In this labor of love project, Tom Cruise plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a German war hero who leads a secret, covert mission–known as Operation Valkyrie - to assassinate Adolf Hitler during the dictator's reign in World War II. Anyone who knows their history will be well aware of this film's inevitable outcome, but there is still plenty of sweat inducing tension and unexpected surprises along the way.

There's been a lot of talk about Tom Cruise in this picture as of late, and the truth is, he's not bad as Stauffenberg. He's just a little bit distracting. Still, Cruise deserves credit for his low key performance. This is not a flashy turn. Of course it helps that Valkyrie is an ensemble--and a stellar one at that. The impressive all star cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, and David Bamber.

Valkyrie was directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men, Superman Returns) and written by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Way of the Gun), and it's clear that these gifted storytellers have not only a clear understanding of history but a fondness for old school war movies as well.

Valkyrie bristles with undeniable tension. When Stauffenberg sets out to complete his seemingly impossible mission, you could cut the tension with a knife. And when you see just how close Stauffenberg and his team come to success, it's enough to make you spontaneously combust. This is riveting stuff.

What's really most interesting about this piece of intriguing history is the number of men and woman who were actually involved in this operation. For whatever reason, many of us just sort of assumed most Germans were on Hitler's side during this era. The truth is, there were several – more than I could have imagined – who did believe Hitler to be an evil man. The plan that Stauffenberg and his team hatch to put an end to this dictator's genocidal regime is intricate but easy to follow thanks to Singer's sure handed approach. The director even comes up with a simplistic but clever device that allows his actors to speak in their own voices rather than resorting to German accents. It's a cheat of sorts, but it really works to the film's advantage.

Valkyrie is immensely entertaining and it really took me by surprise. Even though I had a fair knowledge of the history behind it, there was still plenty of stuff in there that I didn't see coming. This is a terrific film.