MovieChat Forums > Hart's War (2002) Discussion > Lack of creative focus ?

Lack of creative focus ?

posted 21 years ago by Once_A_Thief
5 replies | jump to latest

There was really good film inside this movie somewhere , but the director/or writers seemed to lose focus and were never sure what film they were making .

One minute , the movie is about Hart's journey from being a green silver spoon kid to being a real man with courage , the other minute it is about racism in the ranks , then it is about Bruce Willis being a her and coming back to save the day , know what I mean ?

There was never really a clear strand through the movie and I got the impression that it must have underwent numerous rewrites , and if you see the amount of deleted scenes on the DVD it really adds up to a picture that was problematic .

But I still maintain that it was a good film , but it could have been so much better if there was a clearer focus .

[–] gospeltemple1 21 years ago

i understand what you are saying even though i think you are wrong. i mean the movies main focus although it had many sub-plots was about Hart (farrel) learning of the struggles those who have not been born into a wealthy family go through, weather they be top-notch officers or petty officers, blacks or whites.

Harts War was a really good movie if they didn't push it as a movie filled with action and excitement rather then just a story with meaning which would make you ponder it would have been a sucess.

[–] chet19 20 years ago

I agree with the original poster. Gospeltemple's reply is a bit off...because sub-plots are fine in a movie. But not 3 or 4 co-existing plots. There are several stories going on at once, and they don't blend too well. YOu can't really call the court martial a sub-plot. Instead, once the court martial begins, all the story about Colin and his dad and being from a privileged family is forgotten. Still a good movie, but they threw too much in. They coulda had any old trial going on...I mean, after all, the trial was just a farce to distract the Germans. They didn't need to be so melodramatic and anti-racism.

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Once_A_Thief 20 years ago

I still maintain it's a good film - the problem is that the finished product does not reflect fairly on the ambition of the project , or concept .
Perhaps , they could have made the movie longer , and also the ending just felt like it was a last minute concession forced by poor studio-testing , to audiences expecting Bruce Willis "to beat up all those Nazis" !!

Does anyone else think that Bruce Willis was miscast ? I think he's a tremendous movie-star , but the role basically required an actor who can be a total prick , yet play with your symapthies and questions the audience in different ways . I don't think Bruce Willis is enough of an actor to entirely pull it off , or perhaps he didn't have the faith in the film , but there are times when he doesn't seem to be acting in the same film as the other actors .

[–] Aitch-Kay 18 years ago

Just saw this last night - great film ..... and personally I think Bruce Willis gave the best performance of his career !!

Very serious and understated without any of his cheesy grins !