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Movies / On DVD / Hart's War
Hart's War

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Hart's War (2002)

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Reviews Counted:116

Fresh:67

Rotten:49

Average Rating:5.9/10

Consensus: Well-made and solidly acted, Hart's War is modestly compelling. However, the movie suffers from having too many subplots.

Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Director Gregory Hoblit's debut feature was the tricky courtroom drama PRIMAL FEAR. With his fourth feature, HART'S WAR, Hoblit is back with another. This time the court is inside a WWII... Director Gregory Hoblit's debut feature was the tricky courtroom drama PRIMAL FEAR. With his fourth feature, HART'S WAR, Hoblit is back with another. This time the court is inside a WWII prisoner-of-war camp. The defendant is Lieutenant Lincoln Scott (Terrence Howard), a black officer accused of killing a racist sergeant (Cole Hauser). Scott's lawyer is Lieutenant Tommy Hart (Colin Farrell), a second-year law student at Yale. A U.S. senator's son, Hart was having a relatively easy war until he was captured, interrogated, and sent to Stalag VI. The camp commandant is the urbane, charming, and ruthless SS Major Visser (compellingly played by Rumanian actor Marcel Iures). The ranking American officer at the camp is Colonel William McNamara (Bruce Willis), and Hart is soon in conflict with him. When Scott is accused of murder, McNamara insists that the prisoners should hold a court martial, and he appoints Hart counsel for the defense. At the court martial, Hart finds his client is being railroaded, although he gets help from unexpected quarters. Intricately plotted by scriptwriters Billy Ray and Terry George, and filmed by Hoblit with his accustomed attention to detail, HART'S WAR is a devious and absorbing courtroom/POW drama. [More]

Starring: Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, Terrence Howard, Vicellous Shannon

Starring: Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, Terrence Howard, Vicellous Shannon, Jonathan Brandis, Scott Michael Campbell, Rory Cochrane, Cole Hauser, Michael Landes, Michael Weston, Sam Worthington, Marcel Iures, Linus Roache

Director: Gregory Hoblit

Director: Gregory Hoblit
Screenwriter: Terry George, Billy Ray
Producer: Wolfgang Glattes, David Ladd, David Foster
Composer: Rachel Portman
Studio: MGM/UA

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Hart's War

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81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Even as the story strains to accommodate a few implausible, last-second theatrics, it manages to sustain a tense, sober atmosphere.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
02/15/02
Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Oregonian

Initially gripping, eventually cloying POW drama.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
02/15/02
Jonathan Foreman
Jonathan Foreman
New York Post

Unlike A Soldier's Story, which tackled the same theme within the confines of an engrossing, unpredictable story, too much of Hart's War feels like finger-wagging.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
02/15/02
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

For maximum enjoyment, the viewer should be as clueless as to what is really going on as poor Hart.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
02/15/02
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Jam! Movies

Hart's War seems to want to be a character study, but apparently can't quite decide which character.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
02/15/02
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Teetering toward preaching, the film says much about courage, honor, duty and sacrifice, traits common enough in many World War II stories.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
02/15/02
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle

Hart's War, in trying to please everyone, delivers a doubly exasperating blend of liberal and conservative pandering, both a self-congratulatory acknowledgment of historical racism and an affirmation that American patriotism excuses all sins.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
02/15/02
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail

Gripping on impact, it provides plenty of material for long thoughts.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
02/15/02
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

It's a pleasure to finally see a film directed by Gregory Hoblit that really reflects the multiplane storytelling expertise he developed working on such television series as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
02/15/02
Los Angeles Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...a run-of-the-mill courtroom drama that John Grisham could have tossed off between endorsing royalty checks.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
02/15/02
Bill Pearis
Bill Pearis
Citysearch

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

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
02/15/02
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Delivers on all fronts, with a cunning script, great acting, and subtle directing.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
02/15/02
Max Messier
Max Messier
Filmcritic.com

If you're looking to go rah-rah America, these flawed characters won't convince you to put that plastic flag back on your car. Still, this film has some surprising heart.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
02/15/02
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
02/15/02
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper

[A]fter a pretty decent first hour, Hart's War becomes increasingly ludicrous, culminating with a cornball finale that will either leave you scratching your head or shaking it in disgust.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
02/15/02
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Can good filmmaking make up for a scattered script?

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
02/15/02
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Opens as promising as any war/adventure film you’ll ever see and dissolves into a routine courtroom drama, better suited for a movie titled “Glory: A Soldier’s Story.”

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
02/14/02
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

So predictably sanctimonious it feels like it’s been sitting on the shelf since the 1950’s, when big-name, naively feel-good message movies were a dime a dozen.

Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine | comment Comment
02/14/02
Chuck Rudolph
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine

The WWII drama is well plotted, visually striking and filled with enjoyably complex characters who are never what they first appear.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
02/14/02
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

[S]olid, old-fashioned entertainment in which everything is much larger than life and the plot elements slide into place with clockwork precision.

Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
02/14/02
Glenn Lovell
Glenn Lovell
San Jose Mercury News
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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