The movie Sommersby stars Richard Gere as a man who allows himself to be hung for a crime he did not commit. He did it solely for the sake of honor and dedication. When I was leaving the theatre after watching that movie I overheard two women talking.

'So did he do it or what?' asked the first.

'I don't know, but that was a stupid ending.' answered the second.

Well, I thought the movie was brilliant in that it took a subject like honor and held it up so proudly. In this day and age honor is usually an ignored subject. Or by the above conversation, one that gets little respect. I am glad to see it can at least exist in movies.

Hart's War is one such movie that takes honor very seriously. It starts with a young non-combatant Lt. played by Colin Farrell. While driving someone back to the front he gets captured by Nazis, interrogated, and is sent to a POW camp. There he meets a Colonel, Bruce Willis, who has the Lt bunk with the enlisted. This causes a few eyebrows to lift, but not as many as when, later, two Tuskegee black pilots are also sent to the same stalag.

One of the men in the barracks is found murdered and one of the Tuskegee pilots is accused. The Colonel assigns the Lt to defend the pilot and much of the film is the subsequent trial.

The previews for Hart's War show explosions and Bruce Willis saying something about 35 men escaping. Then some quick shots of men climbing out of the tunnel. That is the worst preview I have ever seen.

First of all the movie has little to do with explosions. There are several action/explosion scenes, but they really are not integral to the plot. One scene has the train carrying the POW's getting bombed. It was dramatic and exciting, but had nothing to do with the plot. The part about the tunnel and the escape isn't even in the film until the last half hour. In fact the tunnel is supposed to be this big surprise to the main character. Once the tunnel is discovered all the pieces of the film's puzzle fall in place.

Since, however the escape tunnel was already in my head due to movie previews, I watched this film always one step ahead of the main character. Thus the revelatory scene near the end of the movie was totally ruined. The makers of this filmed pushed it as an action flick when in fact it is a well thought out character piece. No one is a saint and everyone is suspicious.

Although Willis is the bigger star, it is Farrell who is in almost every scene. It is through his little brown eyes that we discover this prison society. So what would have been a climactic ending when the Lt discovers what's really going on turns into a 'so that is how the tunnel from the preview fits into it' thought.

Colin Farrell does a legitimate job as the nervous Lt. This is definitely a star making role. Where as he does a decent job he really does not add a whole lot more to the character than what the writer has put down. Too often we just see him staring at something, or someone. A more expressive actor like Jim Caviezel could have raised this part to an incredible level.

Bruce Willis can play two characters. The first one is cocky smart ass, and the second is serious hardboiled. Here he plays the latter. You won't see his trade mark smirk as he walks through this supporting role.

A part I disliked had the accused pilot doing the one annoying liberal Hollywood scene. He is on the stand answering questions when he starts pontificating about how Nazi prisoners were treated better than Blacks in Alabama. True or not, it had nothing to do with the movie and just turned this character into a whiny ass.

A good movie that could have used a better publicity campaign. At least the previews didn't show the end of the movie and we find that all the main characters have honor and are willing to die for it. If you want to know what that means then go see the movie.

Did you enjoy Eric's review? +0 -1

I have never liked Bruce Willis much. Here he looks the part but has very little real acting to do. His change of heart scene at the movies conclusion is not believable at all. He goes from being a selfish bastard to a noble hero in a split second.

Colin Farrell is the heart of the movie. Literally and figuratively. He gives a great performance as the conscience of the American soldiers.

I find Eric's inability to sympathize with Lt. Scott's statements about being treated worse in Alabama than the Nazi POW's to be disgusting, but also quite typical of my ultra-conservative brother's views. In review after review he seems unable to relate to any character's hardships unless he has personally experienced what they are going through. Here this man is putting his life on the line in a war to defend his country and yet is treated like a low life because of his skin color and Eric has the nerve to call him a whiny ass. I guess in Eric's eyes the Lt. Scott's of the world should just shut up and accept their place in things. All I can say is thank God the majority of the world doesn't feel this way.

Terrence Howard is a very underrated actor. Usually he plays bad guys, so it is nice seeing him as a hero in this one. In the end though, Hart's War is just another WWII POW movie. It has the prerequisite stereotypical Nazi Colonel. The secret tunnel used to escape. It really breaks no new ground and doesn't threaten the image of Stalag 17 which is probably one of the best of this type movie ever made.

Hart's War attempts to be a thinking man's war movie. It has relatively little action. Unfortunately the ending is a little too pat. It plays out as if Bruce Willis insisted on having his character be the hero in the end even though it would have been better and more believable if he had remained the bastard that he is portrayed as in the rest of the film.

Did you enjoy Patrick's review? +1 -0

Personally, I don't find it very honorable to sacrifice a man's life so that a Colonel, desperate to get back into the war, can blow up an ammunition dump. Particularly when the whole court martial is apparently so pointless. The prisoners of war seem able to come and go as they please, and even hide an enormous tunnel project, yet for a distraction to the actual escape, they decide to stage this enormous trial, which involves a man's death. It is such an obvious plot device to add drama, that it makes the escape plot, completely ludicrous.

As for Lt. Scott's statements on the stand, I think it's best to remember that as far as he knows, this could be the last chance he ever has to make a statement. These are his last words, so they hardly seem out of place.

I actually enjoyed this movie right up until Hart discovered the real reason for the trial. The plot unravels quickly after that. As I said, no legitimate reason is given for the trial being the only cover for an escape attempt, Colonel McNamara is able to get to the ammunition dump and blow it up in just a matter of minutes, and Hart's taking the blame for the murder may have had honorable intentions, but instead it just means that the escape is discovered immediately.

My point of disagreement with Eric is that not knowing the tunnel scene was coming would have made this a better movie. I wasn't aware it was coming, and it didn't help the movie, it hurt it.

Did you enjoy Scott's review? +0 -0