Snakes on my plane

In honor of the late great Paul Newman I got The Verdict via Netflix. If you liked The Untouchables or A Few Good Men you'll love The Verdict. It's the story of a Boston attorney who's just hit rock bottom when the case of a lifetime falls in his lap. It is the ultimate underdog story. Superb script and they just don't make movies like this anymore.

I saw a preview for the new Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie. At first I thought it was a joke. Who puts a protagonist- or an antagonist for that matter- in an eye patch? A secret plot to kill Hitler? Lots of explosions? Come on! Then, I went online and found out that it's based on actual events. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg , a Nazi, loses an eye, his right hand and two fingers from his left hand in a battle in Africa. Once back in Germany, he and other high-ranking German officers convince Hitler that if he should die, their government would fall apart. So they should form a shadow government, just in case (Operation Valkyire). Claus becomes a sympathizer with the resistance and he and the other shadow government members decide to take out Hitler and surrender to the Allie Forces.
If you were selecting someone to assassinate the most powerful and frightening man in the world, would you send a one-handed, one-eyed, veteran? I need more convincing on this.
Apparently what drew Cruise to this project was the similarity between his profile and that of the real-life Claus. I'm thinking he looked at this script and said to himself:
"My career is making a slow comeback after my comedy turn in Tropic Thunder. What could be more likable than a Nazi who has a change of heart and tries to kill Hitler and *SPOILER* ends up sacrificing his own life? Green light!"
I might be judging this one a little harshly. It could just be a case of a terrible trailer. Let us hope.

Snakes on my plane