...a gem of a courtroom drama.
A Few Good Men (1992)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:41
Fresh:34
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6.8/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 18 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: When two marines are charged with murdering a member of their platoon during an unsanctioned disciplinary action in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the armed forces hire a lieutenant they believe is a... When two marines are charged with murdering a member of their platoon during an unsanctioned disciplinary action in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the armed forces hire a lieutenant they believe is a lightweight defense attorney. Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) prides himself in having successfully plea-bargained every one of his 44 cases and would just as well make this one his 45th. However, ambitious internal affairs officer Lieutenant Commander Jo Ann Galloway (Demi Moore) smells a rat in the form of a hushed-up practice known as Code Red and, furious at Kaffee's halfhearted efforts, gets hired as the younger cadet's defender. Aided by Lt. Com. Galloway's prodding, Lt. Kaffee begins to realize the rottenness of the whole affair and sets to take on the whole Guantanamo Bay marine corps and its codes, a decision that makes inevitable a ferocious head-to-head showdown with an immovable force. Irascible Colonel Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson, in one of the most striking performances of his fabled career) heads the Cuban marine base and is on the cusp of appointment to the National Security Council. Jessup embodies both the necessity and the evil in necessary evil and does not take lightly to anyone questioning his or his corps' methods. Aaron Sorkin's script is adapted from his own gripping award-winning Broadway play and is skillfully brought to the screen by director Rob Reiner. [More]
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, James Marshall, J.T. Walsh, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, Wolfgang Bodison, Cuba Gooding, David Bowe
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Screenwriter: Aaron Sorkin
Producer: David Brown
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Reviews for A Few Good Men
Ignited by a clash of values, courtroom fireworks and a dazzling display of topnotch acting.
The screenplay is a good one, directed with care and acted, for the most part, with terrific conviction.
Jack Nicholson comes in at the beginning and end and punches a hole in the screen both times.
As a play of ideas, it has the profundity of a high-school debate, with a wan, climactic sermon about the need to stand up for the little guy.
The film, as it progresses, begins to seem like Reiner's own military exercise -- all professional polish, no soul.
This is stirring, highly entertaining stuff, with superb performances all the way around and witty dialogue to keep it all moving.
It's a grand undertaking that wrangles with the heavy questions that cropped up at Nuremberg and My Lai, questions that deserve and get lots of imposing shots of monuments and not a little swashbuckling from the big stars.
Highly entertaining courtroom drama that's well-directed by Reiner but narratively flawed. Thematically, the story is fraudulent--much ado about nothing--but enjoybale to watch.
The same histrionic fireworks that gripped theater audiences will prove even more compelling to filmgoers due to the star power and dramatic screw-tightening.
It probably will win some Oscars, but if this is the best film of the year, it is a pretty poor year for films.
An extraordinarily well-made movie, which wastes no words or images in telling a conventional but compelling story.
Men is full of loaded, manly moments, great clashes of will and excellent buzz cuts.
That the performances are uniformly outstanding is a tribute to Rob Reiner (Misery), who directs with masterly assurance, fusing suspense and character to create a movie that literally vibrates with energy.
Although Nicholson has little more than an extended cameo, he seizes the final courtroom scene and makes it a tour de force of cinema.
The intellectual cut-and-thrust of the courtroom is largely absent here, and the denouement seems slick, arbitrary, and derived from the Captain Queeg catalogue.
The final scene, when Kaffee locks horns with Jessep, more than makes up for the predictability of what's come before.
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When one of the most celebrated writers in Hollywood teams up with one of the greatest directors who ever lived -- I bet a few good movies might be the result. More...
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