First off, let me just say that I am a sucker for any WWII movie (or game or book). I find the time period fascinating and I just never get tired of seeing new interpretations of the historical events. That being said, I didn't go into Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the Fourth Reich with extremely high hopes and figured it would probably be another cheesy war flick. However, I am always happy to see Sean Patrick Flanery in anything and hoped that the film would be fairly decent. Instead, I was rewarded with a really interesting action film that kept my attention throughout.
Capt. Evan Blackburn (Sean Patrick Flanery, Boondock Saints, Dexter, The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones) is ready for WWII to be over, but is sent one on final mission by Gen. Reinhardt (Stephen Lang). He and his OSS team, comprised of a mix of American and English soldiers, are being sent into the belly of Nazi Germany in order to retrieve Adam von König (Johannes Herrschmann), a high-ranking German officer who is a member of the Kreisau Circle and the man destined to take over the German government upon the assassination of Hitler during Operation Valkyrie. Naturally, nothing goes as planned.
Not only does Valkyrie fail in killing Hitler, but the Allied team's plane crashes somewhere in Prussia and they are left to hoof it on their own without even so much as a working radio. When they stumble upon a couple of mischief-making Polish resistance members and then all are captured by Nazis, they find unlikely allies in a group of Russian GRU soldiers who are most likely seeking von König as well. Led by Major Kulkov (Pasha Lynchkoff), the men do manage to save the OSS team, but all soon find themselves in trouble when they seek refuge at the safehouse of Oskar Halminski (Rutger Hauer) of the Polish Resistance, and a visit from family friend and Kreisau Circle member Elke Schroeder (Julie Engelbrecht) causes all hell to break loose.
The OSS and GRU soldiers part ways quickly in the heat of battle, each with their own agenda, but with millions of dollars in gold bullion and key component members of the Nazi party attempting to start a Fourth Reich in Argentina, the competing teams just might have to work together to stop an evil far greater than their respective countries' goals.
While Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the Fourth Reich won't win any Oscars, it's a good action film with an interesting story based on history and some pretty good acting. Flanery is great as Capt. Blackburn, leading a motley crew including Sites (Eric Ladin), Dixon (Tom Padley), and Clarence (Kip Pardue), while Pasha Lynchkoff was incredibly believable as Maj. Kulkov with his angry team of Russians and his right-hand man, Tolstoy (Andrew Byron). Tom Sizemore stars in a smaller role as Master Sergeant O'Malley, working with Gen. Reinhardt and he does a good job as well. Not to be left out are Julie Engelbrecht and Rutger Hauer, both of whom add some nice variation to the large collection of soldiers in the film.
While there aren't any special features on Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the Fourth Reich, it's still a good war film and I recommend it. I don't know that it warrants a purchase, unless you'll be viewing it multiple times, but it has a rousing ending, so it is worth a second watch.
