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Hart's War
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer


7.8

based on 32 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 10 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for some strong war violence and language

Starring Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, Terrence Dashon Howard, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Cole Hauser, Rory Cochrane, Rick Ravanello, and Marcel Iures

Set in a Nazi prisoner of war camp, Lt. Tommy Hart (Farrell), a Harvard law student before enlisting, is assigned by top ranking Colonel William McNamara (Willis) to defend an African-American airman (Howard) accused of murder in a camp trial held by his fellow American prisoners.

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Billy Ray Terry George John Katzenbach (novel)
DIRECTED BY:	Gregory Hoblit
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: July 9, 2002 Video: July 9, 2002 Theatrical: February 15, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	125 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Works uncommonly well because of the effective manner in which it blends together its various elements: the WW2 prison camp setting, the courtroom aspects, and the issues of honor, racism, and redemption.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Reminds us that the human dynamic can do a lot that explosions can't, even when the film flirts with formula.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

A solid piece of storytelling that doesn't pander, skips the usual POW stereotypes and allows the film to work reasonably well as an epic of war, a survival story, a prison thriller, a murder mystery and a courtroom drama.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The lack of attacks lets us concentrate on emotions rather than explosions.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

The plot is canny, but it would be little more than an ingenious springloaded device were it not for the performances by Howard and Iures.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie worked for me right up to the final scene, and then it caved in.

Newsweek David Ansen

Gets too earnest for its own good. But Billy Ray and Terry George’s screenplay, taken from a John Katzenbach novel, is expertly plotted.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

It may seem harmless, to some, that our movies have never entirely abandoned the land of Poitier-ville, but as Hart's War demonstrates, it's an insult that they haven't.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Quickly morphs into a messy double message movie with motifs and clichés lifted from military courtroom films like "A Soldier's Story" and "A Few Good Men."

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Just because a movie was inspired by real life and has good intentions doesn't mean it can't wind up as phony as a three-dollar bill.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Could have been a contender, but it lacks the courage of its own ambivalence.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

A mildly psychological suspense thriller with military trappings.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

A decent thriller trying to overcome a rather preposterous premise.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Absorbing in a low-key way but more dramatic where its secondary characters are concerned than its leads, and capped by climactic incidents that are less than entirely convincing.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

In its amalgam of classic Hollywood war movies and courtroom dramas, Hart's War takes the audience to a place that never existed in order to teach it a lesson it already knows.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Follows all these rules, which is why you'll get the enjoyable basic minimum. But not a whit more.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

Takes some admirable risks.

New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky

Ultimately, Hart's War can't decide what it is: treatise on racism, escape (and escapist) thriller or murder mystery. So it sits there -- and we sit there with it, waiting and waiting. And waiting.

Film Threat Chris Barsanti

Confused and dramatically overwrought.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Despite its admirable sobriety for most of its running time, the film's climax is a parade of ludicrous clichés.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Having seen the TV series "Hogan's Heroes," we already know that a German prisoner of war camp can be cartooned; Hart's War goes further as a cartoon that takes itself seriously.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The movie's exploration of prejudice within the military is certainly on target, but it's presented with all the finesse of a classroom civics lesson.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Hart's War has its priorities clear, but delivers them with insulting simplicity.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

It more or less self-destructs in a ridiculous last few minutes when it becomes a noble sacrifice-o-rama.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Director Gregory Hoblit ("Primal Fear") is merely arranging cliches in new patterns until the surprise ending blows enough pro-military fervor up the audience's ass to make Colin Powell call a halt.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

A movie like Hart's War, for all its realistic trappings, is essentially escapism. And yet it inadvertently pushes the 9/11 button. The real world is going to intrude a lot this year at the movies. Better get used to it.

Village Voice Justine Elias

Seriously off balance.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Less fascinating and finally unsatisfying is the awfully familiar racism angle, a subplot that, though unusual in a POW movie, turns regrettably earnest and preachy almost immediately.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Inoffensive and sporadically engrossing.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

If glum were good and bleak were best, Hart's War would be a standout.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

Put Bruce Willis and this bewildering World War II movie in front of the firing line.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Wants to be everything and adds up to nothing. "War" is a film that tries to excel on several levels and falls flat on all of them.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Frank O. gave it a5:
Disappointed in this film, the book by John Katzenbach was so much better in terms of tension and suspense. Willis was good, first time I noticed Terrance Howard who I enjoy as an actor. Way too long.

Tony B. gave it an8:
What a shame that this fine film was not recognized by the critics or promoted effectively by MGM.

Jason P. gave it a 10:
Awesome movie. well reasearched and developed. colin farell is an amazing actor.

Nikki S. gave it a 10:
Greatest Movie.

Rachel K. gave it a 10:
This was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. I enjoyed it throughly.

Omar T. gave it a 7:
Surprise!!! Amazing and classic film. Farrell is a great actor.

Michael F. gave it a 6:
Starts off great but gets worse and worse. The movie brings up some good points and acually becomes a quite engrossing court-room drama. Then the whole honor thing and the actor who plays the defendant has some horrible writing to go with his character. Willis gave a fine, nothing special, performance. But Farrel is great, as usual. It just gets silly. Not great writing.

Hart's War Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Hart's War
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer