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| Editorial Reviews: |
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Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 18-SEP-2007
Media Type: Blu-Ray | | | | A U.S. soldier is dead, and military lawyers Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee and Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway want to know who killed him. "You want the truth?" snaps Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson). "You can't handle the truth!" Astonishingly, Jack Nicholson's legendary performance as a military tough guy in A Few Good Men really amounts to a glorified cameo: he's only in a few scenes. But they're killer scenes, and the film has much more to offer. Tom Cruise (Kaffee) shines as a lazy lawyer who rises to the occasion, and Demi Moore (Galloway) gives a command performance. Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, J.T. Walsh, and Cuba Gooding Jr. (of Jerry Maguire fame) round out the superb cast. Director Rob Reiner poses important questions about the rights of the powerful and the responsibilities of those just following orders in this classic courtroom drama. --Alan Smithee | | | | A U.S. soldier is dead, and military lawyers Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee and Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway want to know who killed him. "You want the truth?" snaps Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson). "You can't handle the truth!" Astonishingly, Jack Nicholson's legendary performance as a military tough guy in A Few Good Men really amounts to a glorified cameo: he's only in a few scenes. But they're killer scenes, and the film has much more to offer. Tom Cruise (Kaffee) shines as a lazy lawyer who rises to the occasion, and Demi Moore (Galloway) gives a command performance. Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, J.T. Walsh, and Cuba Gooding Jr. (of Jerry Maguire fame) round out the superb cast. Director Rob Reiner poses important questions about the rights of the powerful and the responsibilities of those just following orders in this classic courtroom drama. --Alan Smithee | |
| Custom Reviews: | |
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| A Few Good Men & A Lady That Can't Really Act | |
| | If anything, this film is a testament to the acting legend that is Jack Nicholson. The man is only in the film for no more than ten minutes, yet when the movie is over, he's the one you remember. He gave the famous line, he's the biggest "villain," and let's face it, he's Jack Nicholson basically being Jack Nicholson. But hey, we love Jack.
But that isn't to say he's the only good part of the movie. Far from it, here the film also catches Tom Cruise in his young prime, a lot of great actors before they became famous, the great writing of Aaron Sorkin in his first work, a solid courtroom drama, and a moral conundrum involving the military. Rob Reiner also arguably gives his best directing performance in certainly his best non-comedic film.
But that also isn't to say the film is without its faults. The film sort of drags in spots, and it's guilty of gross-overacting, even though most of the negative overacting is done by Demi Moore, who may also be one of the weaker characters of the film.
Still, A Few Good Men is a well-done drama with stupendous acting, solid writing & a good plot. It still holds up, and the price of admission is worth it for Nicholson's courtroom scene alone. It's also interesting to note the sort of questioning of the military code the film dives into, taking into question honor, and the means one goes to protect the nation. For Tom Cruise, this makes the 2nd film that dived into the topic after the excellent "Taps," which was one of Cruise's first film roles.
| | | "A Few Good Men" is the kind of film where when you have finished it, it will leave you breathless. The Acting and story line is incredible!
The film is about Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Cruise) a lawyer for the military, that gets assinged the case of two men who are acused of assaulting Private William Santiago in the middle of the night. Lt. Kaffee belives that the two men acused of assaulted where ordered to do such by Col. Nathan Jessup on "code red".
Some of the best acting in this film comes in the big court trial. The last man that Lt. Kaffee calls to the stand is Col. Jessup. Without giving away any spoilers, I will just say "you can't handle the truth".
"A Few Good Men" is a wonderful film with all-star performances by Tom Crusie and Jack Nicholson. This is a "must-see" film.
| | | great movie with great acting. its story of a trial involving two marines who are messed up in the death of a fellow marine after just obeying orders. kevin pollack, demi moore and tom cruise have to go up against kevin bacon, keifer sutherland and jack nicholson in defense of the two marines. it is a must see for all who love law and or army movies.
| | You Won't Know What To Believe When The Credits Roll | |
| | To me, the mark of a truly excellent film is in its ability (through both great acting and a solid plot) to make us, the viewers, think just a little bit harder about whatever topic was being discussed in the film. "A Few Good Men" is the epitome of that sort of movie.
For a basic plot summary, the film begins with a seemingly innocent incident at the United States military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that turns tragic when a death is the end result. A young hot-shot lawyer, Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is assigned to the case and, after originally taking little interest in it, starts to get sucked in as the denials mount and the excuses begin. Asked to defend the honor of two young Marines in court, Kaffee dives headlong into the seemingly unwinnable case, even taking it to the highest level by interrogating Colonel Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson) on the witness stand.
What makes this film so emotionally gripping is the idea that both sides ("Kaffee vs. Jessep") have a valid argument (and thanks to the superb direction of Rob Reiner, both are allowed the time to make it). While Kaffee is fighting for justice in the death of a Marine, Jessep is trying to uphold the Marine code (Unit, Corps., God, Country). Through the courtroom back-and-forth, both parties lay out there "arguments", with neither one ultimately winning or losing in the end. The viewer is left, upon the film's conclusion, in a very reflective mood, pondering the many messages that have been touched on.
Also helping matters is the incredible acting performances from a very deep cast. Cruise, Nicholson, and Demi Moore are terrific as the leads, while Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, and James Marshall (among others) turn in moving characters/scenes as well. The final confrontation between Cruise & Nicholson, the apex of the film, is so emotionally gripping and taut with tension that it has to be considered one of the greatest scenes Hollywood has ever produced.
Thus, this is as easily a five-star movie as can be seen, due to its interesting and thought-provoking plot, real-life setting, and inspired acting performances. No matter your political or social views, "A Few Good Men" will get you thinking about the reasons behind those beliefs.
| | Excellent All The Way Around | |
| | Is there anything about this movie that has not already been said? It is an excellent all-around film from the opening Code Red scene to Tom Cruise's exit of the courtroom. The actors are among the best of the time: Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, Demi Moore, Keifer Sutherland - even the lesser knowns such as Kevin Pollak and J.T. Walsh are riveting.
The underlying story is simple: a Marine with health problems requests a unit transfer. Somehow (never explained) the letter falls into the hands of the CO, who decides to 'train' the young Marine. To do so he orders a "Code Red," a term used to describe a disciplinary action handled within the unit. He uses two corporals, Dawson and Downey, to strike fear into Santiago's heart. Dawson is chosen in part because he is the perfect scapegoat. His prior promotion was upheld because he had violated a previous "Code Red" by bringing food to a soldier whose fasting was mandated by the squadron leader, Lt. Kendrick. This mundane humanitarian act becomes critical in the unfolding plot. During the "Code Red," something goes wrong, and Private Santiago dies. The rest of the movie covers the investigation, trial, and verdict rendered by a general court-martial.
Upon hearing of Santiago's death, an officer at Internal Affairs (LCDR JoAnn Galloway) suspects Santiago's death might not be a murder but a "Code Red" gone awry. She petitions the JAG division to be the lead counsel for Dawson and Downey. After considering the recriminations, Division appoints the perfect lawyer for the job, Lt. Daniel Caffey. Caffey is chosen because he has a history of plea bargaining tough cases, and he has only been a lawyer for about a year. Galloway is insulted by the selection of Caffey and at first is hostile towards him. However, she cools down somewhat and is later assigned co-counsel due to Downey's "Aunt Jenny" opting for it. Captain Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon) practically dares Caffey to step into the courtroom. After a lot of back and forth negotiating and a trip to Guantanomo Bay to interview the CO (Colonel Nathan R. Jessup played by Nicholson), Cruise is pushed into the courtroom by the idealistic worldview of Corporal Dawson. Three weeks to prepare for trial and Caffey faces impossible odds.
A bizarre swerve occurs when Jessup's deputy officer, LTC Matthew Markinson (Walsh), vanishes. Much of an hour is spent trying to find Markinson who appears from a most unlikely hiding place - Dan Caffey's back seat. Caffey transports Markinson to witness protection, where Markinson reveals the entirety of what happened. According to Markinson, Jessup is lying about his plan to transfer Santiago away from the unit. Instead, Jessup ordered a "Code Red" that went bad and then he cut off the two soldier who performed it. Caffey offers immunity for testimony that is entirely dependent upon what the flight logs read at Andrews AFB. Unfortuantely for Markinson, the flight log has erased any proof of the flight from Cuba to DC. When Caffey tells Markinson he still intends to call him as a witness, Markinson writes a letter to Santiago's mother apologizing for what happened. He then puts on full military dress uniform and commits suicide.
The trial, meanwhile, is not going very well for the defense. Caffey does succeed in rattling Lt. John J. Kendrick (Sutherland) during cross exam to the point Kendrick snarls his last answer from the witness chair. But just as things can't possibly get any worse for the defense, they get worse. It turns out that LCDR Galloway has not sufficiently vetted Corporal Downey. When he takes to the witness stand he declares that Kendrick gave him an order to give Santiago a "Code Red." But after showing it was not even possible for Downey to have been at the place where the order was given, Ross bores in on Downey and gets him to admit that he never actually was given this order by Lt. Kendrick. As the smoke clears, it appears the defense is hung out to dry with Dawson and Downey possibly headed to the gallows.
After a night of drunken pleasure, Caffey awakens the next day to suggest that he can get Colonel Jessup to confess to ordering the "Code Red." This is done by getting Jessup to the witness stand, pulling phone records at Gitmo, and getting two eyewitnesses who will - allegedly - testify to the existence of the flight Jessup expunged from the tower log. Once on the stand Jessup is his usual self (with Nicholson at his most arrogant best). Caffey turns to his team in puzzlement. Whether this is fear, a tactic, a combination of both is unclear. What is clear is that Caffey wants to rattle Jessup, so he addresses him in a snippy way, ordering the Colonel to "sit down." This angers the military CO to the point he demands to be addressed by his title. The judge admonishes both Caffey and Jessup, and the cross-examination continues.
Jessup soon finds himself in more hot water than Corporal Downey was. What comes out is that Jessup has actually given two orders, one to the men to not harm Santiago and the other to transfer Santiago off the base. Caffey pushes Jessup into a corner and then asks him the most devastating question - if his orders were always followed and he stated that they should not harm Santiago - then why was it even necessary to move the Marine to another base? Perhaps realizing he has come to the end of the line at hiding, Jessup snarls that he will answer the question regarding the order. The sequence that follows is surely among the most memorable in cinematic history. Cruise thunders that he wants answers, the truth. Jessup responds, "You can't handle the truth!" He then proceeds into a sequence of self-righteous defending of his actions. Caffey is so shocked at the ease of the admission that he appears to know not what to do next. But he does. He immediately requests suspension of the court martial so that Jessup may receive an Article 39-A session (Article 39 is one of the articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that concerns trial procedure). The prosecutor assents, the jury is dismissed, and the Miranda rights are given to Col. Jessup.
The final swerve comes at the end. For although it is established that Jessup ordered the "Code Red" and the soldiers had no choice but to follow it - they are still found guilty of "conduct unbecoming" and ordered to be dishonorably discharged. This stuns both soldiers, but Corporal Dawson sides with the prosecution. The curtain falls, and Caffey heads back out to the softball field.
The acting in this movie is phenomenal. Two of the minor cast members, Noah Wylie and Cuba Gooding, Jr, would have breakout roles within the next few years (Wylie on "ER" and Cuba in "Jerry Maguire"). The script is excellent, the movie riveting.
There are very few five-star movies, but this is unquestionably one of them.
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