Cruise due at Valkyrie premiere

German officials originally banned Cruise from filming at certain locations

Actor Tom Cruise will attend the UK premiere of his new film Valkyrie in London's Leicester Square later.

The movie tells the true story of how a German officer unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate his leader Hitler.

The 46-year-old will be hoping the film is better received than it was in Germany, after critics slammed it.

The movie, which had its release date postponed twice, has been plagued with problems, which included 11 extras being hurt during filming.

'Extremely stiff'

A major scene from the World War II thriller also had to be re-shot after footage was damaged at a film processing plant in Germany.

Initially German officials banned film-makers from working at military sites in the country because Cruise is a Scientologist. The decision was later overturned.

The 1944 plot was devised by Count Claus von Stauffenberg, who tried to kill Hitler using a briefcase bomb. The Nazi leader escaped with minor wounds.

Franz von Stauffenberg, a relative of the count, told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag what he thought of Cruise's performance.

"He tries to seem elegant but comes across as extremely stiff. He seems not at all decisive in the role and, above all, not charismatic enough," he said.

Cruise is also due to publicise the movie on Jonathan Ross's Friday night BBC One chat show. It will be the first since the presenter's three-month suspension for making prank calls on a radio show.