Hart's War
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM) | Release Date: February 15, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
18
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
ReelViewsJames 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. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Reminds us that the human dynamic can do a lot that explosions can't, even when the film flirts with formula. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam 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. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The lack of attacks lets us concentrate on emotions rather than explosions. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie 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. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie worked for me right up to the final scene, and then it caved in. Read full review
70
NewsweekDavid 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.
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen 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. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Could have been a contender, but it lacks the courage of its own ambivalence. Read full review
63
New York PostJonathan 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." Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael 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. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
A mildly psychological suspense thriller with military trappings. Read full review
60
VarietyTodd 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. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
A decent thriller trying to overcome a rather preposterous premise. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubScott 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. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene 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. Read full review
50
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. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Hart's War has its priorities clear, but delivers them with insulting simplicity. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It more or less self-destructs in a ridiculous last few minutes when it becomes a noble sacrifice-o-rama. Read full review
50
Film ThreatChris Barsanti
Confused and dramatically overwrought. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Despite its admirable sobriety for most of its running time, the film's climax is a parade of ludicrous clichés. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Follows all these rules, which is why you'll get the enjoyable basic minimum. But not a whit more. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Takes some admirable risks. Read full review
50
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. Read full review
40
Rolling StonePeter 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. Read full review
40
Village VoiceJustine Elias
Seriously off balance. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)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. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Inoffensive and sporadically engrossing. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKenneth 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. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
If glum were good and bleak were best, Hart's War would be a standout.
30
SalonCharles Taylor
Put Bruce Willis and this bewildering World War II movie in front of the firing line. Read full review
30
The New York TimesA.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. Read full review
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