Hart’s War

After a brief burst of action involving an ambush, chase, capture and warplane assault, this old-fashioned fusion of stalag adventure and courtroom drama settles into a German POW camp run by a mean-looking commandant (Marcel Iures) at the end of World War II. The arrival of two African-American pilots at the camp ignites tension and one of the airmen (Terrence Howard) is accused of murdering a loud-mouth racist. The drama and surprises build and wane as a Yale law student and senator’s son (Will Farrell) is given the grim duty of defending the airman while an American officer (Bruce Willis) with a hidden agenda seems to be choreographing the event. This adaptation of John Katzenbach’s novel about the sacrifice of one to save many was written by four first names (Terry George and Billy Ray) and directed by Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear, Frequency).