Daniel Craig leads a Jewish resistance movement against the Nazis in this worthy Second World War drama from Blood Diamond director Edward Zwick. Set in Belarus in 1941, the story follows the Bielski brothers - Tuvia (Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber) and Asael (Jamie Bell) - as they flee the German invaders and local collaborators following the murder of their parents. Their forest hideout soon attracts more refugees and eventually becomes a launch pad for attacks on the enemy and daring rescue missions. As the group's leader, a moody Craig clashes with Schreiber (a forceful screen presence here), but it's Jamie Bell who is most effective, conveying budding maturity in the face of constant danger. Although based on the real-life exploits of Jewish partisans, Zwick's self-important film relies too heavily on the genre conventions of dissent in the ranks, last-minute escapes and noble sacrifice. And lacking the inspirational vigour of Schindler's List, this fails to rise above its clichéd sentimentality and overfamiliar battle images.

Based on a true story, during World War II, four Jewish brothers escape their Nazi-occupied homeland of West Belarus in Poland and join the Soviet partisans to combat the Nazis. The brothers begin the rescue of roughly 1,200 Jews still trapped in the ghettos of Poland.