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Dec 22, 2008 · "Valkyrie" is a meticulous thriller based on a large-scale conspiracy within the German army to assassinate Hitler, leading to a failed bombing attempt on July 20, 1944. At the center of the plot was Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, played here by Tom Cruise as the moving force behind the attempted coup, which led to 700 arrests and 200 executions ...
Dec 25, 2008 · Valkyrie. 62% Tomatometer 199 Reviews 65% Audience Score 100,000+ Ratings Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) serves Germany with loyalty and pride but fears that Hitler will destroy his...
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- Bryan Singer
- PG-13
- Tom Cruise
- A fall from grace for the revival of an old favorite JRPG series.
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- Valkyrie Elysium - Official Screenshots
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By John Carson
Posted: Oct 4, 2022 5:38 pm
Reviving a much-loved series can be a gamble. Stick too close to the original, and the project can feel like a retread. On the other hand, reinventing it completely can alienate stalwart supporters. Over a decade after the last chapter of Square Enix’s Norse-themed JRPG series, Valkyrie Elysium departs from its predecessors’ turn-based roots in favor of a new action-heavy, hack-and-slash direction. In that transition, Elysium has established a fun and flashy combat system but sacrifices part of what made the original PlayStation game memorable: a focus on the characters and worldbuilding.
In many ways, Valkyrie Elysium feels like a Square Enix take on Falcom’s Ys RPG series rather than a return to Valkyrie Profile’s original PlayStation-era DNA. And in the way that modern Ys feels somewhat like a throwback to the PS3-era of games in terms of the structure of their worlds, combat, and progression, so too does Valkyrie Elysium. Although I’m largely satisfied with the action it serves up, Elysium is far less successful at establishing an intriguing tale.
The obedient and straight-laced deity warrior known as Valkyrie meets with her creator, the All-Father Odin, before each chapter. Their base of operations is the opulent yet sparse Asgard, which looks wonderful, but is very small with little to do besides choosing the next quest. Once she descends to the mortal realm of Midgar, the environments are much larger than Asgard. Unfortunately, the regions of Midgard, while more expansive than the godly domain, are far less fun to look at. The locations you visit are vacant of activities and life, offering an overly linear path to adventure down with little else to seek out. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of crates to smash for gems, treasure chests with valuable loot, or minuscule lore drops called Hollow Blossoms to find, but I would have liked more reasons to stray from the critical path and spectacular sights to seek out.
Valkyrie Elysium’s story has the potential to be an exciting Norse epic, but its story falters from the start.
One of the biggest reveals in the final hour is completely missable if you don’t happen to explore a certain part of the map, and if you miss that you’re also locked out of one of a handful of potential endings. Your squad of Einherjar warrior spirits does add much-needed levity, personality, and exposition through their companionship and support to the battle-maiden, but much of it is for naught in the grand scheme of the story. The last few chapters focus on the humanity and agency Valkyrie has absorbed from being around her Einherjar, but when the crux of the finale comes down to a choice, whatever plays out is determined by whether you’ve collected certain items throughout the game rather than letting the player choose their fate. That lack of input from the player is disappointing, considering Valkyrie’s internal conflict of right and wrong is central to her character arc.
Each well-trodden part of Midgar is reused well in great sidequests that warrant the return.
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Despite the regions of Midgard being rather small, there are only a handful of areas to explore in Valkyrie Elysium. The world lacks life, which makes sense with its impending doom, but it often feels empty to its detriment rather than like a successful atmospheric choice. Luckily, each well-trodden part of Midgar is reused well in great sidequests that warrant the return. These optional adventures offer challenging and fun combat scenarios and reward you with meaningful upgrades and items, and are a better use of time than scouring the usually barren environments for the odd treasure chest.
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You can also summon them to fight alongside you with elementally charged attacks (and also granting elemental effects to your own attacks), making them strategically relevant in certain enemy matchups. Einherjar make crowded fights much more manageable, and it's fun to decide which to call on to make swift work of enemy hordes that would otherwise be a slog to take out with Valkyrie alone.
However, because there are only a handful of Einherjar to call upon and counter the weakness of monsters, Valkyrie also has to use Divine Arts to deal loads of damage of her own. These are powerful spells like lightning bolts, holy piercing strikes, and fire storms that look great as they exploit enemy weaknesses to deal extra damage and potentially put them into a stunned state. A gauge restricts their use, but it’s refilled quickly enough that Arts are readily available as reliable combat tools that add a much-needed visual flourish to liven up the bland and empty areas when skirmishes arise. I often lose myself in the enjoyable tension of alternating between my Einherjar and Divine Arts and building their resources back up to continue the onslaught. It's an effective distraction from the dull world and slow story, though battles are far from exempt from issues.
While Valkyrie Elysium is certainly not the next coming of the beloved PlayStation JRPG Valkyrie Profile, there are parts that shine. Sure, it's not a visual powerhouse, it suffers from some occasionally aggravating camera issues, and the tale it weaves doesn’t leave you and your friends with much to discuss and dissect. But Elysium’s new take on c...
Dec 25, 2008 · With Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson. A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.
- (260K)
- Drama, History, Thriller
- Bryan Singer
- 2008-12-25
Dec 24, 2008 · Directed by Bryan Singer. Drama, History, Thriller, War. PG-13. 2h 1m. By Manohla Dargis. Dec. 24, 2008. There are no discernibly nasty Nazis in “Valkyrie,” though Hitler and Goebbels skulk about...
- Bryan Singer
- Manohla Dargis
- 121 min
The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed nearly $201.5 million worldwide. Plot. During World War II, Wehrmacht Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg is stationed in Tunisia, where he becomes increasingly disillusioned with the future of Nazi Germany under Hitler. His battalion comes under attack by P-40 fighter-bombers. [6] .
Dec 10, 2008 · ‘Valkyrie’: Film Review. MGM has finally pulled back the curtains on its Tom Cruise historical thriller to reveal a coolly efficient, entertaining and straightforward tale about the last of 15...
