|
|
|
|
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
|
A Few Good Men by Stephen Farber A Few Good Men is a military courtroom drama in the tradition of The Caine Mutiny, but screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director Rob Reiner try to prove their liberal credentials by beefing up the role of the woman in the original Sorkin play until she's a feminist firebrand. Demi Moore plays a feisty woman lawyer, and yet the character comes off somewhat differently than intended. Because Tom Cruise is playing the hero, a cynical, underachieving lawyer who proves his mettle while defending a couple of Marines accused of murder, Moore becomes little more than a foil to set off his brilliance. Every legal maneuver she makes turns out to be misguided, and she ends up a dewy-eyed cheerleader for the noble Tom. A Few Good Men is a melodrama without a single satisfying surprise twist. Everything that happens--like the Captain Qweeg-like breakdown of Jack Nicholson's military martinet--is predictable without being really credible. 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. That earnest message may sucker crowds of gullible viewers and Oscar voters, but the film merits a booby prize rather than a gold trophy. What did you think of this movie? Sound off in the Movie Forum. |
|
|
| home | forum | this month | reviews archive | features archive | back issues | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 © 2003 Movieline.com |
 |