A Few Good Men [Blu-ray]

 

 

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To say A Few Good Men is superb is an understatement. This film has it all: a great story, great acting, great suspense, and great drama. The film should really be part of the 5-Star Collection. The film has a great cast Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, and Kevin Pollak.

This film is about two members of the Navy, who are being tried for the murder of their partner for being a witness to one of them shooting illegally into Cuba. This sparks for a great drama in which a smart mouthed, cocky lawyer (Cruise), his brash female love interest (Demi Moore), his "helper" so to speak (Kevin Pollak), a angry Col. (Nicholson), and the prosecutor (Kevin Bacon).

This film is great, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves good acting and an even better story.

DVD Special Features Include:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Production notes
• Audio Commentary by Director Rob Reiner
• Exclusive Documentary: Code of Conduct
• Featurette: From Stage to Screen with Aaron Sorkin and Rob Reiner
• Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic (2:35:1) formats

This fact-inspired court drama still holds its punch and looks great on blu-ray. The script is well-written and an all-star cast is put to good use, but it's Nicholson who's most remembered for his commanding role (and best supporting oscar win). There are not alot of blu-ray extras - a couple of featurettes and a spotty Rob Reiner commentary (with subtitles!), but there is a calibrator which can be accessed via the insert instructions. This film is highly recommended (but be prepared for few moments of 'rousing hollywoodism' at the end).

How much critical thought can the military allow its rank and file? Certainly most orders must be followed unquestioningly; otherwise ultimately the entire Armed Services would collapse. But where do you draw the line? Does it matter how well soldiers know not only their military but also their civic duties? Does it matter whether trials against members of the military are handled by way of court-martials, or before a country's ordinary courts?

I first saw "A Few Good Men" as an in-flight movie, and after the first couple of scenes I thought that for once they'd really picked the right kind of flick: A bit cliched (yet another idle, unengaged lawyer being dragged into vigorously pursuing a case against his will), but good actors, a good director and a promising storyline.

Then the movie cut from the introductory scenes in Washington, D.C. to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Jack Nicholson (Colonel Nathan Jessup) inquired: "Who the f**k is PFC William T. Santiago?"

And suddenly I was all eyes and ears.

Director Rob Reiner and Nicholson's costars describe on the movie's DVD how from the first time Nicholson spoke this (his very first) line in rehearsal he had everybody's attention; and the overall bar for a good performance immediately rose to new heights. Based on my own reaction, I believe them sight unseen. Or actually, not really "unseen," as the result of Nicholson's influence is there for everybody to watch: Never mind that he doesn't actually have all that much screen time, his intensity as an actor and the personality of his character, Colonel Jessup, dominate this movie more than anything else; far beyond the now-famous final showdown with Tom Cruise's Lieutenant Kaffee. Nobody could have brought more power to the role of Jessup than Nicholson, no other actor made him a more complex figure, and nobody delivered his final monologue so as to force you to think about the issues he (and this film) addresses; and that despite all the movie's cliches: The reluctant lawyer turning out a courtroom genius (as lead counsel in a murder trial, barely a year out of law school and without *any* prior trial experience, no less), the son fighting to rid himself of a deceased superstar-father's overbearing shadow, and the "redneck" background of the victim's superior officer Lieutenant Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland, who nevertheless milks the role for all it's worth).

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who adapted his own play, reportedly based the story's premise - the attempted cover-up of a death resulting from an illegal pseudo-disciplinary action - on a real-life case that his sister, a lawyer, had come across in the JAG Corps. (Although even if I take his assertion at face value that assigning the matter to a junior lawyer without trial experience was part of the cover-up, I still don't believe the real case continued the way it does here. But be that as it may.) Worse, the victim is a marine serving at "Gitmo," the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, where *any* kind of tension assumes an entirely different dimension than in virtually any other location. In come Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) and co-counsels Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollack) and Lt.Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore), assigned to defend the two marines held responsible for Santiago's death; L.Cpl. Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) and PFC Louden Downey (James Marshall), who claim to have acted on Kendrick's orders to subject Santiago to a "code red," an act of humiliating peer-punishment, after Santiago had gone outside the chain of command to rat on a fellow marine (none other than Dawson), attempting to obtain a transfer out of "Gitmo." But while Kendrick sternly denies having given any such order and prosecuting attorney Captain Ross (Kevin Bacon) is ready to have the defendants' entire company swear that Kendrick actually ordered them to leave Santiago alone, Kaffee and Co. believe their clients' story - which ultimately leads them to Jessup himself, as it is unthinkable that the event should have occurred without his knowledge or even specific direction.

By the time of this movie's production, Tom Cruise had made the part of the shallow youngster suddenly propelled into manhood one of his trademark characters (see, e.g., "The Color of Money," "Top Gun" and "Rain Man"); nevertheless, his considerable skill (mostly) elevates Kaffee's part above cardboard level. Demi Moore gives one of her strongest-ever performances as Commander Galloway, who would love to be lead counsel herself in accordance with her rank's entitlements, but overcomes her disappointment to push Kaffee to a top-notch performance instead. Kevin Pollack's, Kevin Bacon's and J.T. Walsh's (Jessup's deputy Lt.Col. Markinson's) performances are straight-laced enough to easily be overlooked, but they're fine throughout and absolutely crucial foils for Kaffee, Galloway and Jessup; and so, vis-a-vis Dawson, is James Marshall's shy, scared Downey, who is clearly in way over his head. The movie's greatest surprise, however, is Wolfgang Bodison, who, although otherwise involved with the production, had never acted before being drafted by Rob Reiner solely on the basis of his physical appearance, which matched Dawson's better than any established actor's; and who gives a stunning performance as the young Lance Corporal who will rather be convicted of murder than take an unhonorable plea bargain, yet comes to understand his actions' full complexity upon hearing the jury's verdict.

"Unit - corps - God - country" is the code of honor according to which, Dawson tells Kaffee, the marines at "Gitmo" live their lives; and Colonel Jessup declares that under his command orders are followed "or people die," and words like "honor," "code" and "loyalty" to him are the backbone of a life spent defending freedom. Proud words for sure: But for the "code red," but for the trespass over that invisible line between a legal and an immoral, illegal order they might well be justified. That line, however, exists, and is drawn even in a non-public court-martial. I'd like to believe that insofar at least, this movie gets it completely right.

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5.0 out of 5 stars another TOM CRUISE hit!!!
this guy seems to be in all the good stuff...even though he's not favorite actor, this movie does have my favorite actor in it. you guessed it kendrick: Kiefer Sutherland. Read more

Published on Dec 2 2006 by Washinton Mutual

5.0 out of 5 stars Best movie EVER!
I really like this movie. It has alot of suspense and it keeps you wondering what the outcome will be. Read more

Published on July 11 2004 by norcalgirl26

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Well i happen to think that the movie is open and shut When the Fish Drill Team performs in the begining sequence. Other than that this movie is allright

Published on Jun 19 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Unit - Corps - God - Country.
How much critical thought can the military allow its rank and file? Certainly most orders must be followed unquestioningly; otherwise ultimately the entire Armed Services would... Read more

Published on Jun 11 2004 by Themis-Athena

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Good Jack Nicholson Film
A good adaptation of Aaron Sorkin's play, A Few Good Men. Rob Reiner does a great job creating a suspenseful, entertaining tale of a fence line shooting at a Guantanimo Bay... Read more

Published on Jun 2 2004 by R. Barmore

5.0 out of 5 stars "You f....d with the wrong Marine!"
Written by Aaron Sorkin ("The American President", "The West Wing") based on his play, "A Few Good Men", the story is centered around the nature of... Read more

Published on May 31 2004 by K. Gittins

4.0 out of 5 stars A superb military courtroom drama. Thoughtful and powerful.
This is one of the best military courtroom dramas that you will find. Tom Cruz and Jack Nicholson lead the superb cast in what has become a classic story of military justice... Read more

Published on May 2 2004 by Roger J. Buffington

5.0 out of 5 stars A Few Good Men
A Few Good Men released in 1992, Directed by Rob Riner, and starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, and AAN Jack NIcholson is a powerful film about a arogant navy attorney who is scared... Read more

Published on April 3 2004 by Carol Brandt

5.0 out of 5 stars "A FEW GOOD MEN" WAS REINER/SORKIN'S SUBTLE MESSAGE OF THEIR
"A FEW GOOD MEN" WAS REINER/SORKIN'S SUBTLE MESSAGE OF THEIR PERFECT LIBERAL WORLD
By Steven Travers

Unlike other obviously partisan Hollywood films from the likes of... Read more

Published on Feb 21 2004 by Steven R. Travers

5.0 out of 5 stars you gotta ask me nicely
A few Good Men and a woman, that's right you have Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Kevin bacon & Pollak,Kiefer Sutherland,Cuba and Demi Moore,a brilliant cast WOW! Read more

Published on Jan 16 2004 by murph

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