A Few Good Men (1992)

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers (WGA):

Aaron Sorkin (play)
Aaron Sorkin (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 December 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

In the heart of the nation's capital, in a courthouse of the U.S. government, one man will stop at nothing to keep his honor, and one will stop at nothing to find the truth.

Plot:

Neo military lawyer Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder; they contend they were acting under orders.

Plot Keywords:

Military | Murder | Courtroom | Guantanamo Bay | Military Lawyer

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Tom Cruise	...	Lt. Daniel Kaffee
Jack Nicholson	...	Col. Nathan R. Jessep
Demi Moore	...	Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway
Kevin Bacon	...	Capt. Jack Ross
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Lt. Jonathan Kendrick
Kevin Pollak	...	Lt. Sam Weinberg
James Marshall	...	Pfc. Louden Downey
J.T. Walsh	...	Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson
Christopher Guest	...	Dr. Stone
J.A. Preston	...	Judge Julius Alexander Randolph
Matt Craven	...	Lt. Dave Spradling
Wolfgang Bodison	...	Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson
Xander Berkeley	...	Capt. Whitaker
John M. Jackson	...	Capt. West
Noah Wyle	...	Cpl. Jeffrey Barnes

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L | France:Unrated | South Korea:15 | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8 | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

When searching for an appropriate setting for the trial, the producers learned that regular military courtrooms are plain and featureless offices. In order to create a more photogenic setting, they settled on a vacant courtroom in an empty courthouse.

Goofs:

Factual errors: There is no such thing as "conduct unbecoming a Marine" under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The closest thing to it is what is known as a "general Article 134 violation," which does not carry a dishonorable discharge as a possible punishment.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Drill Master: Forward, march!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Emperor's New Groove 2: Kronk's New Groove (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

TIMBER I'M FALLING IN LOVE

Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson bring some seriously stellar performances to the table in this legal drama.

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore This movie is for people who like lawyerly stuff and military type stuff. This movie is an episode of Jag on crack. This movie was made by Rob Reiner. Really, after that last statement, need I say more? If you didn't know that Rob Reiner did The Princess Bride, then hang your head in shame now.

It starts out in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when a couple marines enter the room of another marine, stuff a rag down his throat, duct tape his mouth shut, duct tape his hands behind his back, duct tape his legs together, and so on. Then the credits roll and we cut to D.C., where we find out that the marine getting gagged and tied died that night. The two marines that were doing the gagging and tying are charged with murder and flown out to D.C.

The task of lead counsel is assigned to Daniel Kaffee (Cruise), a lieutenant junior grade with a track record for plea bargaining and smooth talking. Lt. Cmdr. Jo Galloway (Moore) is assigned to be co-counsel, despite the fact that she tried to get in as lead counsel. They start the investigation down in Cuba where they meet Col. Nathan Jessup (Nicholson), the man who ordered the two men to give Private Santiago the Code Red, which accidentally led to his death. Of course, Jessup doesn't tell this to Danny or Jo. Why would he? He'd look pretty bad for it, right? So when they get back to D.C. and do some legal maneuvering with their clients and the prosecution, Danny manages to get a deal for a mere two years of prison time, where they are actually home in six months. And the two that are charged turn it down on principle, because they still believe they have done nothing wrong. Danny decides that he wants to get a different lawyer assigned to the case because he doesn't want to go down with them, but then has a change of heart after talking to a few people and thinking about it.

So the trial starts, and that's when the movie really picks up speed. The skill that Danny has as he strides around the courtroom asking all the right questions and probing in just the right ways is phenomenal. It almost makes you want to be a lawyer.

There are some major setbacks along the way, some things go right, a lot more go wrong, but eventually everything turns out okay in the end. But like so many movies where we know how it's going to end, it was never really the ending we were banking on, but the fun of getting there.

Bottom Line: 4 out of 4 (own this movie)