Thursday, May 18, 2000
Top-drawer entertainment. If you see the movie, you'll understand why this isn't a good thing.
Story
The story is typical but still compelling Hollywood military courtroom drama.
Samuel L. Jackson plays Col. Terry Childers, a veteran marine in a legal bind after he appears to have slaughtered a group of Yemen demonstrators during the emergency evacuation of an ambassador and his family. To help, he calls on Col. Hays Hodges (
Tommy Lee Jones), a retired military lawyer with low self-esteem. After making a trip to Yemen to inspect the scene of the alleged crime, Jones learns that getting his old war buddy off the hook won't be very easy, especially with a hotshot prosecutor (
Guy Pearce) to wrestle with. Despite an extremely lame "smoking gun," the high-impact action scenes are a treat and will certainly distract you from the less-than clever plot.
Acting
Jackson and
Jones are veteran actors and once again, their skills shine in "Rule of Engagement." Jackson is especially powerful in his courtroom scenes, despite a copycat display of rage reminiscent of
Jack Nicholson's performance in "A Few Good Men."
Pearce is equally strong, elegantly pulling off the role of a cunning yet ruthless prosecutor.
Direction
William Friedkin clearly knows how to create an action sequence. They are realistic and gasp-worthy. His courtroom scenes are a bit amateurish and duplicative of "A Few Good Men," but the dialogue moves along nicely to keep you interested.
Bottom Line
Big explosions, rapid machine-gun fire, lame story. Just another action flick from Hollywood.