The Wolf
The movie itself is very good. The story is very refreshing and something new beyond all those WW2 movies with nearly the same plot. The only disturbing thing, especially because i'm from a German speaking country, is that there are nearly no German actors. Marcel Iures is Romanian, Radek Kuchar is Czech or Dugald Bruce Lockhart is Scot. That's pretty annoying if you're watching the movie in English, because when they're speaking in German, you can hardly understand them, because they've got their accents in it. So probably bad casting? Maybe, but nevertheless they are good in their roles, especially Marcel Iures. But it would have been great if they'd considered some of the great German speaking actors. So 3 points deduction for that, but all in all a good movie.
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-
robertjmr72
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".
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.
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