Once this picture enters the courtroom it becomes riveting. The build up is intriguing as well in it's many aspects of discovering information and the principals feeling each other out regarding temperaments and personalities. I've usually been on the fence about Tom Cruise as an actor, I guess because I equate him with the Daniel Kaffee we're first introduced to, a cocky and brash hot-shot lieutenant who can do no wrong and has a record supporting his arrogance. What's interesting is that I like him as Jack Reacher, but don't care for him much in the early part of this picture, or as Vincent Lauria in "The Color of Money". But with the passage of time, I can better appreciate him as an actor now, and revisiting this film has a lot to do with that perception.
And what can you say about Jack Nicholson? You know his presence here will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride with the take no prisoners approach to running his unit at Guantanamo Bay. With this role, Nicholson calls to mind George C. Scott in 1970's "Patton" as the kind of forceful and arrogant military leader who sees things only one way. My only qualm about the story is during the courtroom scene when the hot headed Colonel Nathan R. Jessep admits to the Code Red violation. I didn't think back in 1992 when I first saw this, nor did I think when I watched the movie again the other day, that a soldier of Jessep's qualities would crack the way he did under questioning by Lieutenant Kaffee. That was certainly a dramatic scene heightened by the intensity of both actors, but I couldn't see Jessep getting tricked like that. Still, I can overlook that minor glitch to give this film a top rating.
What I had forgotten about regarding the picture was the appearance of all those top quality young players who went on to even bigger and better things, like Keifer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, and Noah Wyle. Sam Weinberg and Demi Moore were also more than competent in their roles backing Cruise's Kaffee. With the passage of time this film has grown in my estimation, and is one I'd recommend for anyone who enjoys emotional courtroom drama.
And what can you say about Jack Nicholson? You know his presence here will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride with the take no prisoners approach to running his unit at Guantanamo Bay. With this role, Nicholson calls to mind George C. Scott in 1970's "Patton" as the kind of forceful and arrogant military leader who sees things only one way. My only qualm about the story is during the courtroom scene when the hot headed Colonel Nathan R. Jessep admits to the Code Red violation. I didn't think back in 1992 when I first saw this, nor did I think when I watched the movie again the other day, that a soldier of Jessep's qualities would crack the way he did under questioning by Lieutenant Kaffee. That was certainly a dramatic scene heightened by the intensity of both actors, but I couldn't see Jessep getting tricked like that. Still, I can overlook that minor glitch to give this film a top rating.
What I had forgotten about regarding the picture was the appearance of all those top quality young players who went on to even bigger and better things, like Keifer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, and Noah Wyle. Sam Weinberg and Demi Moore were also more than competent in their roles backing Cruise's Kaffee. With the passage of time this film has grown in my estimation, and is one I'd recommend for anyone who enjoys emotional courtroom drama.