PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

romanorum1 SPOILER: In December 1944 in snowy Belgium, Lt. Thomas Hart (Colin Farrell), a military attaché, is captured by Germans via a ruse: Those desperate German soldiers of a dying Reich who speak like Americans and dress in American uniforms. He is sent to POW prison, Stalag VI A in Augsburg, Germany. There he meets German commandant, Col. Werner Visser (Marcel Iures, in a marvelous performance). Almost immediately, he is greeted by Col. McNamara (Bruce Willis), the highest ranking prisoner of war in the camp. After sniffing out Hart (Hart's reaction to a most grueling interrogation by Deutsch Officer Lutz), he assigns Hart to an enlisted men's barracks, Building 27, instead of the one for officers. Apparently the Germans did allow the highest ranking POW a degree of power in the encampments. Hart blends in fairly well as he learns the ins and outs of survival, like the value of cigarettes. Before long two African-American Air Force officers, recently captured by the Germans, are placed by McNamara in the enlisted men's quarters. Staff Sergeant Vic Bedford (Cole Hauser) makes no pretense of his displeasure. Not only is Bedford bigoted, but he also knows how to obtain favors from the German guards. When Bedford is found murdered, suspicion is focused on one of the Negroes, Lincoln Scott (Terrance Howard). The other had already been shot for attempted escape after being set up (by Bedford). With approval of Col. McNamara, Scott is placed on trial by the Americans. The aim of the trial can be seen as a way for Americans to maintain their dignity under trying circumstances. McNamara assigns Hart as Scott's defense council, even though the former has only attained progress as a second-year Yale Law School aspirant. Col. Visser agrees and supports the trial, which consumes much of the second half of the feature. It soon becomes obvious that McNamara is at odds with Hart, and has motives that transcend justice. The privileged Hart has much to learn.On the other hand, Visser is sympathetic to the lieutenant, with whom he discloses his graduation from Yale back in 1928. He even gives the conflicted Hart a copy of the American Manual for Courts- Martial to assist him. He knows that McNamara "threw him to the wolves." Privately he tells Hart that he enjoys American culture, like reading Mark Twain; he also plays his Negro jazz records, a collection that very much relaxes him even though it is "verboten" in the Reich. Visser is obviously not a typical nasty Nazi stereotype. Towards the end we realize that there is a shifting of events: the trial really has nothing to do with Lincoln Scott. Much about the camp was a lie; Bedford was a known snake. There is something larger afloat, an act of greater military importance that is portended earlier. As this is a World War II movie, perhaps this fact should have been expected. But it is distracting to the viewer, and will not work for many. Some may even feel that the story-line is no better than mediocre. The feature is produced by David Ladd, Alan Ladd's son. The cinematography, with its wintry bluish tone and stark, snowy scenes, works very well. The claustrophobia in each of the unheated barracks can be felt outside of the screen. In this writer's opinion, you can do worse than watch.

wes-connors In 1944 Belgium, during World War II, handsome American lieutenant Colin Farrell (as Thomas "Tom" Hart) is captured by the Nazis and sent to a German Prisoner of War (POW) camp. He is a US Senator's son and Yale law student; this was not supposed to happen. After some hairy distractions, Mr. Farrell ends up in Stalag 6A. He meets the prisoners' hard-nosed leader Bruce Willis (as William A. McNamara), who puts Lt. Farrell in a less than worthy barracks; it's one for enlisted men, not officers. The demotion is likely because Col. Willis knows Farrell lied to him about not cracking under German interrogation. Next, two additional men arrive at Stalag 6A. These men cause racial tension among the POWs...The conflict centers on Terrence Howard (as Lincoln A. Scott) and Cole Hauser (as "Vic" W. Bedford). A Tuskegee pilot, the former becomes an accused black man; the latter is his white racist enemy. These men perform their supporting roles very well. However, the most memorable characterization is given by Marcel Iures (as Werner Visser). As the Nazi leader, Mr. Iures has the meatiest role. He was educated in the west (Yale, again), served in World War I and plays American jazz phonograph records. That background connects everyone...The main star, Farrell employs his Yale studies to defend Mr. Howard. The main co-star, Willis looks steely and determined. Director Gregory Hoblit and cinematographer Alar Kivilo make "Hart's War" a fine looking film, especially during the first half. But we should not guess the big revelation before Farrell, who seems like a fairly smart guy, and the ending is most unsatisfactory.****** Hart's War (2/15/02) Gregory Hoblit ~ Colin Farrell, Bruce Willis, Marcel Iures, Terrence Howard

Wuchak RELEASED IN 2002 and directed by Gregory Hoblit, "Hart's War" is a war flick about a paper-pushing lieutenant with a background in law (Colin Farrell) who is unexpectedly captured in Belgium and taken to a POW camp in southern Germany in the closing months of the European theater of the war. He eventually befriends and defends a Tuskegee Airmen (Terrence Howard). Marcel Iures plays the humane German commandant while Bruce Willis plays the tough-as-nails American colonel of the POWs. Cole Hauser is on hand as a racist soldier. This is obviously not a conventional WWII flick. Although it starts out with some great war action, it has more in common with films like "Stalag 17" (1953) and "The Great Escape" (1963), albeit with modern filmmaking craft. As my title blurb points out, it's reminiscent of Hogan's Heroes but without the comedy, plus elements of "A Few Good Men" (1992). The film isn't really about survival in the POW camp, but rather the tensions of the prisoners and the criminal drama.Some have complained that no fascist camp colonel in his right mind would allow such a trial as depicted in the movie. But there are several reasons why the commandant would allow it: (1.) for entertainment, (2.) to witness and understand the American way, (3.) he knew the war would be over soon and wanted to have the Allie's favor, or (4.) a mixture of the above. Keep in mind that the commandant went to school in the US after the first world war so he was enamored by American lifestyle and had a fondness for jazz. I'm sure entertainment was a huge factor since POW camp life is just as boring for the captors as it is for the captives over time.The climax telegraphs that this is a war MOVIE and not real life, but it's packed with action and gripping drama. It's also ultimately quite moving. Although it failed at the box office, "Hart's War" is a very good WWII POW camp movie and, in some ways, great.THE FILM RUNS 125 minutes and was shot in the Czech Republic.GRADE: B+/A-

g-bodyl If you like action and Bruce Willis, this is the movie for you. If you like history and you expect something similar to "Saving Private Ryan", you will be disappointed. I am choosing to review this with "Hollywood" in mind.This film takes place in the German POW camps. The main focus are the American prisoners led by Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell. The camp is running fine with the exception of Nazis guarding them. The status quo is changed when two black men arrived at camp.The acting is pretty good. Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell did an excellent job. Marcel Iures literally creeps you out as the Nazi leader of the camp.Now, this movie is unrealistic. I don't believe that the Nazis would allow the Americans to live in peace or comfort and diss Hitler as they did in this movie.Overall, this is a good movie. I have seen better war movies, but this movie is not designed to win an Oscar. I rate this movie 8/10.