A British soldier named Harry resigns from the army in the 1880s on the eve of being posted in the Sudan.

His fellow soldiers mail him white feathers to let him know they think him a coward. His fiancee calls off their wedding and his father ceases to consider him a son. Disgraced, Harry goes off into the desert all-by-his-lonesome hoping to do something - though he's not sure what.

Along the way is a funny black guide named Abou, who - as luck would have it - has a thing for helping out British guys. Abou leads Harry to those who doled out the feathers, and soon enough a rescue mission is underway. But will Harry get his fiancee back!?

The cinematography by Robert Richardson is very good. James Horner does the score, which sounds like an epic war movie/period piece. I think Heath Ledger is pretty watchable, but because the movie feels like it's mechanically going about the process of completing itself, it's hard to care when he gets to do that thing where he slides down the dune half unconscious with a sunburn and parched lips. The characters are never established, so their evolution doesn't even begin to feel engaging. It’s unfair to judge a film by it’s tag line, but it’s fair to consider the tag line in the context of the film: "Freedom. Country. Honor. Passion. To save his best friend, one man must risk everything he loves". To which one might respond: "His best friend? Was he the guy with the moustache?"

I give this movie zero stars.