A Few Good Men
3.5/4
Starring: Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Pollack, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Wolfgang Bodison, James Marshall, J.T. Walsh
Rated R for Language
The great thing about "A Few Good Men" is that it's incredibly easy to get sucked into it, no matter where you are in the movie. I've come across it a number of times on TNT (where it frequently plays) and no matter where it is in the running time, I always keep watching it. The performances are top-notch, the story is compelling and the script, penned by Aaron Sorkin (who is responsible for "The West Wing" and "The Social Network), is electric. There's not much more that I actually need to say, but because I am a film critic, I will go on.
At the Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, two Marines, Lance Corporal Harold Dawson (Bodison) and Private First Class Louden Downey (Marshall), are accused of murdering Private First Class William Santiago (Michael DeLorenzo). The Navy wants this to go away, so they assign the case to Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Cruise), who has a record of closing cases quickly without ever going into the courtroom. But his research assistant, Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway (Moore), thinks Dawson and Downey are innocent and were ordered to assault Santiago by their superiors: Lieutenant Jonathan Kendrick (Sutherland) and Colonel Nathan Jessup (Nicholson). Galloway wants Kaffee to try the case, but he isn't interested; he doesn't have a choice when his clients refuse to take any deals. Now he's going to have to do some actual legal work and find out what really happened. Their chances of winning are slim; there's little evidence and it could mean big trouble for Kaffee's career if he's wrong.
The performances are superb all across the board. There isn't a weak link to be found. Cruise, already a star at this point, is perfect as Kaffee. Kaffee is slick and sarcastic; he doesn't really care about anyone. "You're an ambulance chaser with a rank," Galloway says to him at one point. And it's true. Beneath all the sarcasm and wheeling and dealing, he's a coward living under his father's shadow. Moore gives one of her best performances as the tough and passionate Galloway. She knows that their clients are innocent, and she'll do anything to prove it. In an interesting turn of events, she outranks Kaffee. The third member of the cast, Jack Nicholson, is the one everyone remembers, which is ironic because he's only onscreen for three scenes. But, like Anthony Hopkins proved in "The Silence of the Lambs," it doesn't matter how how long you're on screen, but what you do with the time you have. As Colonel Nathan Jessup, the leader of the base, Nicholson is a study in intensity. Everyone at the base is a fanatic about being a Marine, and in no person is it more true than Jessup. This guy is smart, tough and dangerous. It's going to take a miracle to make him sweat. Ditto for Sutherland, whose character, Kendrick, is even more fanatical.
The supporting cast is also very good. Kevin Pollack is good as Kaffee's right-hand man, Lieutenant Sam Weinberg. Weinberg doesn't like his clients because he thinks they're bullies and thugs, but he helps out because it's his job. Kevin Bacon is good as Kaffee's friend and rival, Captain Jack Ross. He doesn't think Dawson and Downey deserve to go to jail, but it's his job to prosecute the case regardless. The late great character actor JT Walsh is also very good as the mysterious Markinson, who has suddenly gone missing. Also strong are Bodison and Marshall, although no one ever seems to remember them when talking about the movie (probably because neither one of them has a good career; Bodison mainly has a slew of TV guest credits and Marshall's only other big credit was playing James Hurley in "Twin Peaks"). The two are terrific. Bodison is the leader of the two, whose devotion to the Marine Code may jeopardize his and Downey's life. He's also hostile to Kaffee because he (rightly) thinks that the lawyer is a coward and a show-off. Marshall is incredibly sympathetic as the simple-minded Iowa farmboy. He's Dawson's gopher; he won't make any decision himself.
"A Few Good Men" is famous for showcasing a few rising and future stars. Mockumentary bard Christopher Guest appears in one scene as a competitive doctor, and "ER" star Noah Wyle and future Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. are witnesses.
Sorkin's script is also standout. Although one might criticize it for having the characters repeat themselves, this is not the case. They're talking like lawyers, making sure that everything they say is specific and can't be misinterpreted. In a way, watching "A Few Good Men" is like watching a David Mamet movie; the words are intense and rhythmic. Roger Ebert criticized the film for this ("[it's] one of those movies that tells you what it's going to do, does it, and then tells you what it did"], but he missed the point. It's a stylistic choice that adds to the intensity. Listening to the dialogue is part of the fun.
Rob Reiner's work here is also very good. He films the scenes with energy but without calling attention to himself. The camera movements are subtle but they add to the intensity. He also has a knack for atmosphere; some scenes are quite creepy (this is helped immeasurably by Marc Shaiman's score)
The only real flaw is that there's a flashback early in the film that's ill-placed and completely unnecessary. It's a great scene that features Nicholson, Walsh and Sutherland, but it should have been cut. It would have been better served in the deleted scene section of the DVD.
That being said, "A Few Good Men" is a very good movie in a way that few are.
Starring: Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Pollack, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Wolfgang Bodison, James Marshall, J.T. Walsh
Rated R for Language
The great thing about "A Few Good Men" is that it's incredibly easy to get sucked into it, no matter where you are in the movie. I've come across it a number of times on TNT (where it frequently plays) and no matter where it is in the running time, I always keep watching it. The performances are top-notch, the story is compelling and the script, penned by Aaron Sorkin (who is responsible for "The West Wing" and "The Social Network), is electric. There's not much more that I actually need to say, but because I am a film critic, I will go on.
At the Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, two Marines, Lance Corporal Harold Dawson (Bodison) and Private First Class Louden Downey (Marshall), are accused of murdering Private First Class William Santiago (Michael DeLorenzo). The Navy wants this to go away, so they assign the case to Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Cruise), who has a record of closing cases quickly without ever going into the courtroom. But his research assistant, Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway (Moore), thinks Dawson and Downey are innocent and were ordered to assault Santiago by their superiors: Lieutenant Jonathan Kendrick (Sutherland) and Colonel Nathan Jessup (Nicholson). Galloway wants Kaffee to try the case, but he isn't interested; he doesn't have a choice when his clients refuse to take any deals. Now he's going to have to do some actual legal work and find out what really happened. Their chances of winning are slim; there's little evidence and it could mean big trouble for Kaffee's career if he's wrong.
The performances are superb all across the board. There isn't a weak link to be found. Cruise, already a star at this point, is perfect as Kaffee. Kaffee is slick and sarcastic; he doesn't really care about anyone. "You're an ambulance chaser with a rank," Galloway says to him at one point. And it's true. Beneath all the sarcasm and wheeling and dealing, he's a coward living under his father's shadow. Moore gives one of her best performances as the tough and passionate Galloway. She knows that their clients are innocent, and she'll do anything to prove it. In an interesting turn of events, she outranks Kaffee. The third member of the cast, Jack Nicholson, is the one everyone remembers, which is ironic because he's only onscreen for three scenes. But, like Anthony Hopkins proved in "The Silence of the Lambs," it doesn't matter how how long you're on screen, but what you do with the time you have. As Colonel Nathan Jessup, the leader of the base, Nicholson is a study in intensity. Everyone at the base is a fanatic about being a Marine, and in no person is it more true than Jessup. This guy is smart, tough and dangerous. It's going to take a miracle to make him sweat. Ditto for Sutherland, whose character, Kendrick, is even more fanatical.
The supporting cast is also very good. Kevin Pollack is good as Kaffee's right-hand man, Lieutenant Sam Weinberg. Weinberg doesn't like his clients because he thinks they're bullies and thugs, but he helps out because it's his job. Kevin Bacon is good as Kaffee's friend and rival, Captain Jack Ross. He doesn't think Dawson and Downey deserve to go to jail, but it's his job to prosecute the case regardless. The late great character actor JT Walsh is also very good as the mysterious Markinson, who has suddenly gone missing. Also strong are Bodison and Marshall, although no one ever seems to remember them when talking about the movie (probably because neither one of them has a good career; Bodison mainly has a slew of TV guest credits and Marshall's only other big credit was playing James Hurley in "Twin Peaks"). The two are terrific. Bodison is the leader of the two, whose devotion to the Marine Code may jeopardize his and Downey's life. He's also hostile to Kaffee because he (rightly) thinks that the lawyer is a coward and a show-off. Marshall is incredibly sympathetic as the simple-minded Iowa farmboy. He's Dawson's gopher; he won't make any decision himself.
"A Few Good Men" is famous for showcasing a few rising and future stars. Mockumentary bard Christopher Guest appears in one scene as a competitive doctor, and "ER" star Noah Wyle and future Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. are witnesses.
Sorkin's script is also standout. Although one might criticize it for having the characters repeat themselves, this is not the case. They're talking like lawyers, making sure that everything they say is specific and can't be misinterpreted. In a way, watching "A Few Good Men" is like watching a David Mamet movie; the words are intense and rhythmic. Roger Ebert criticized the film for this ("[it's] one of those movies that tells you what it's going to do, does it, and then tells you what it did"], but he missed the point. It's a stylistic choice that adds to the intensity. Listening to the dialogue is part of the fun.
Rob Reiner's work here is also very good. He films the scenes with energy but without calling attention to himself. The camera movements are subtle but they add to the intensity. He also has a knack for atmosphere; some scenes are quite creepy (this is helped immeasurably by Marc Shaiman's score)
The only real flaw is that there's a flashback early in the film that's ill-placed and completely unnecessary. It's a great scene that features Nicholson, Walsh and Sutherland, but it should have been cut. It would have been better served in the deleted scene section of the DVD.
That being said, "A Few Good Men" is a very good movie in a way that few are.
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