There's court room dramas. There's court room dramas where a black defendant is facing the noose. There's court room dramas where a black defendant faces the noose after killing a white man.

But this has got to be the first courtroom drama where a black defendant faces the noose after killing a white man... in a PoW camp, in the heart of Nazi Germany.

Law student Jimmy Hart (Colin Farrell) is given the job of representing a black flier falsely accused of murdering an American black market racketeer. Presiding over the court martial is veteran military commander Colonel William McNamara (Bruce Willis), who outwardly appears determined to do things by the book.

However, it's no secret that McNamara resents being cooped up in the Stalag and is determined to return to the front line to see some action. To add some more flavour to an already rich stew, the German camp commander is Colonel Werner Issel (Marcel Iures), an urbane but cold-eyed reptile.

He's not your run-of-the-mill Nazi - he's studied law at Yale, has a library full of American literature and isn't averse to tapping his toes to outlawed 'negro' jazz.

So now we launch into a highly improbable court room battle, the tension enlivened by the knowledge that the Allies are, at this moment, heading towards the camp at full pelt.

There are really too many strands thrown into the mix to make this the simple, affecting drama it attempts to be, and it ends up wildly flailing at its laudable objectives.

Where it does succeed is the evocation of the daily grind of prison camp existence, the racist hierarchy of the American military (even in war) and the complex relationships built up in the camps.

But the hesitant comparisons between America's redneck south and the Nazi concept of racial purity come across as trite and scarcely thought through. The performances are competent enough, it looks great... but, when it comes down to it, all we are really waiting for is Bruce to kick ass.

Tim Evans