Hart's War (2002)

"Hart's War" is a WW II Prisoner of War film based on a novel by John Katzenbach. The film apparently differs quite a bit from the book. It isn't the equal of "Stalag 17" of 1953 or "The Great Escape" of 1963. But it comes close, and it introduces a couple of new aspects rarely covered in POW films. Those are interrogation before prisoner assignment to a POW camp, and racism among the American prisoners. The cliché – all is not what it seems, surely applies to this film. Hart's War is a gripping war movie about the Allied prisoners in a Nazi POW camp. I think it does rival "Stalag 17" for intensity and intrigue. The situations are somewhat different, especially with the racism aspect. It's a solid, dramatic story that includes several issues -- patriotism, freedom, brotherhood, race, betrayal, sacrifice, murder and military leadership. And that's just among the prisoners. The Germans who run the camp don't stand out beyond the commandant. This is a great story that to the very end may have you in doubt, as it did me. Had I known the outcome before watching this movie, I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much. So, I recommend that those who haven't seen it yet not read reviews that give the plot away. The best appreciation of this film comes from seeing it through the eyes of Colin Farrell's character. As the movie unfolds, we see and associate with his feelings, his dismay, his confusion, his anger and his disbelief. "Harts War" is a powerful statement about honor, courage, integrity and leadership. No one can ever forget the ending. The cast excel throughout the film. Bruce Willis is the ranking Allied POW – Col. William McNamara. Farrell is the newly arrived POW, Lt. Thomas Hart. Romanian actor Marcel Iures is camp commandant, Col. Werner Visser. Terrence Howard is Lt. Lincoln Scott. Each stands out in his role, and the rest of the cast are superb. This movie makes an excellent 21st century addition for any serious World War II film library.

Sure, this could happen.A ragged group of American P.O.W.s wish to hold a 'trial' (heh-heh) to clear the name of a "colored" American pilot who was executed for attempting escape.High-ranking German officers agree to partake of the trial since they have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE TO DO.... no war business to attend to, no guns to re-load, no chicks to screw, no cigarettes to smoke, etc. In other words, they don't mind wasting their time with this charade.In keeping with Hollywood's hatred and prejudice of the Germans, every German whom ever lived is the 'bad guy'.Forget it.

I was dismayed to find that this movie was not a blockbuster back in 2002. I myself did not watch it in that year due to Enron imploding and the appointment of W by the Supreme Court as President of the USA. Irregardless, today is the day I watched "Hart's War" and I am "appalled" that this movie has not been re-released.That is my recommendation: "Hart's War" should be re-releasedThis is an important piece of work that should be seen by the American public, especially with President Obama as the leader of the free world. This movie is a powerful reminder that although so many Americans believe in the motto of "Use or be used"; there are many more who believe in the humanity of their fellow men. There are yet some Americans who are not motivated by money or power but by honor.This is my recommendation: Re-Release "Hart's War"

This is one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen, the reason I say this is because it started out really awesome and then slowly turned into a terrible movie that is totally forgettable. I would say that the movie is actually really good up to the point when the African-American prisoners are brought into the prisoner of war camp and then what started out as a really interesting movie about the conditions of POW's in WWII turns into some kind of misguided statement about racism. In the end, I couldn't really understand what kind of statement or message this movie was trying to make. On the one hand it seemed to be about the inequality of US soldiers during WWII but on the other hand that whole thing was just a cover-up for some clandestine sabotage operation. The ending was completely unbelievable but by that point I didn't care because I wanted to watch a "War" movie not a courtroom drama about racism that was just a sideshow to hide an operation that no one, watching the movie, knows about until the very end(and it wasn't one of those "wow, what a cool endings" either, it was just a "WTF just happened?" ending that was stupid. I seriously doubt that this movie was an accurate portrayal of how POW's, even of different races, would treat one another.Conclusion, to make a long post even longer ;), This movie starts out really good and you think you are about to see a really awesome WWII movie but instead you have been tricked and what you end up with is a boring courtroom drama that in then in is completely meaningless because it was just a cover-up for some larger goal, and top off the stupidity the unarmed Bruce Willis character walks unopposed back into the prison camp, through the front gate...seriously, and basically let's himself get killed. This movie makes me mad because from the beginning you can tell this thing had potential and then someone, I guess the writers and director just quit caring about making sense and just told a complete fiction and nothing even remotely close to a good fictional WWII movie like "Inglorious Basterds".