Hart's War is one of those movies that takes so long to get going that it never quite manages to recover. Through the first hour or so, I had no real idea what the movie was even about.

Involving the events that surrounded the infamous Battle of the Bulge, Hart's War takes shape in a Nazi POW camp, as innocent Lt. Thomas Hart (up and comer Colin Farrell) must defend a black soldier accused of murdering another officer. Bigger than life Col. William McNamara (a subtle Bruce Willis) refuses to make the proceedings easy for Hart, and with good reason. Actually, a couple of good reasons that I will not reveal in this review. As the trial progresses, so does the tension amongst the soldiers.

Bruce Willis is good here. His performance is a study in restraint that builds slowly into some extremely powerful moments toward the end of the film. Colin Farrell comes across as a little too low key. There's alot of buzz on this guy right now and I expect better things from him, but as the title character in Hart's War, he doesn't bring much dimension. I guess part of that blame should be put on the screenwriter.

Hart's War takes it's cue from classics such as Stalag 17, The Great Escape, A Soldier's Story and A Few Good Men just to name a few. It's racial themes are slightly heavy-handed, but the biggest problem is how long it takes for the film to make it's point. When it finally does reach it's destination, I never really bought into it. Essentially, this is a courtroom drama, but the story and pacing are labored and awkward.

With films as diverse as made Primal Fear, Fallen, and Frequency, director Gregory Hoblit has shown a good deal of promise. With Hart's War, he's tackled an entirely new genre with mixed results that put it a few notches above Fallen. There are certainly moments that are effective here, but much of this film is downright dull. While it does deal with moving themes (honor, and patriotism etc.), it never manages to avoid melodramatic overkill. And coming out on the heals of a war-film as riveting as Black Hawk Down, doesn't help matters at all.