A court-martial drama within a POW escape flick, Hart's War breathes surprising new life into old World War II plots by combining genres and adding true human complexity to its not-so-stock characters. Talented but over-hyped Colin Farrell (Tigerland, American Outlaws) stars as a desk-job lieutenant captured in a German ambush and sent to a prison camp. Suspected of spilling his guts during interrogation, he's bunked with the enlisted men by the ranking prisoner (a colonel played by Bruce Willis), as are two Tuskegee fighter pilots (discriminated against because they're black). When racial tensions lead to two killings and the railroading court-martial of one of the pilots (Terrence Dashon Howard), Farrell, a former law student, is assigned as defense council…only to discover the trial is a front for an escape plot. Will he expose the truth or sacrifice the pilot to aid the escape? Hart's War walks on eggshells with its saintly black characters, but Farrell, Willis and others are fascinating, flawed, deeply conflicted and contradictory characters, making this film worthwhile, overall. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries--one with Willis, director Gregory Hoblit and screenplay writer Billy Ray; the other with producer David Foster--10 deleted scenes, and a photo gallery. Bottom line: A solid set of extras for a solid legal thriller wrapped in a WWII environment.] (R. Blackwelder)
Hart's War
MGM, 125 min., R, VHS: $33, DVD: $26.98, July 9 Volume 17, Issue 4
Hart's War
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