Having dominated the Vietnam War drama Tigerland, Colin Farrell again impresses in uniform as he defends a black pilot from a trumped-up murder charge in this workmanlike adaptation of John Katzenbach's novel set in a German PoW camp. Dispensing with combat action after the compelling cross-country opening, director Gregory Hoblit laudably concentrates on exposing the pernicious racism that existed within the US armed services during the Second World War. So the emphasis on courtroom drama rather than an escape subplot means this tale resembles A Few Good Men rather than Stalag 17, with too many key incidents occurring off-screen and therefore straining credibility. Nominal star Bruce Willis as the camp's senior American officer is underused and his characterisation pales significantly beside Marcel Iures's cultured Nazi commandant.

When Col. William McNamara is stripped of his freedom in a German POW camp, he's determined to keep on fighting even from behind enemy lines. Enlisting the help of a young lieutenant in a brilliant plot against his captors, McNamara risks everything on a mission to free his men and change the outcome of the war.