Rules of Engagement (2000)

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers (WGA):

James Webb (story)
Stephen Gaghan (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

A hero should never have to stand alone.

Plot:

An attorney defends an officer on trial for ordering his troops to fire on civilians after they stormed a U.S. embassy in a third world country.

Plot Keywords:

Colonel | Embassy | Lawyer | Trial | Yemen

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tommy Lee Jones	...	Col. Hayes 'Hodge' Hodges
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Col. Terry L. Childers
Guy Pearce	...	Maj. Mark Biggs
Ben Kingsley	...	Ambassador Mourain
Bruce Greenwood	...	National Security Advisor Bill Sokal
Anne Archer	...	Mrs. Mourain
Blair Underwood	...	Capt. Lee
Philip Baker Hall	...	Gen. H. Lawrence Hodges
Dale Dye	...	Gen. Perry
Amidou	...	Dr. Ahmar
Mark Feuerstein	...	Tom Chandler
Richard McGonagle	...	Judge Col. E. Warner
Baoan Coleman	...	Col. Binh Le Cao
Nicky Katt	...	Hayes Hodges III
Ryan Hurst	...	Capt. Hustings

Also Known As:

Les règles d'engagement (Canada: French title)
Rules - Sekunden der Entscheidung (Germany)
Rules of Engagement - Die Regeln des Krieges (Germany) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for scenes of war violence, and for language.

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA | Canada | UK | Germany

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color (CFI)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:16 (original rating) | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

When Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones) returns to the bombed-out embassy, there is a picture of then Vice President Al Gore on the charred wall. Gore and Jones were roommates at Harvard.

Goofs:

Continuity: Along with using two different types of helicopters for the take off from the ship to the insertion into the embassy, there are two totally different squadrons used for during the time which would take only a few hours. On the ship, when the Marines are boarding the aircraft, the side of the aircraft reads what squadron that aircraft belongs to which, on the ship scene it is HMM-764, a reserve squadron based out of Edwards Air Force Base in CA. When the Marines get dropped off at the Embassy the squadron on the aircraft reads HMM-268, a active squadron out of Camp Pendleton.

Quotes:

Colonel Hayes Hodges: If this gets bad, it gets bad for both of us.
Colonel Terry L. Childers: Why, Hodge? Are you going to jail too?

Movie Connections:

References A Few Good Men (1992)

Soundtrack:

On the Threshold of Liberty

Dramatic warfare in the jungle, the desert and the courtroom.

There is an anti-American uprising in Yemen. Col. Terry Childers, played by Samuel L. Jackson, is sent to evacuate the U.S. embassy. Childers gives his Marines the order to fire back at hostile, armed civilians. This action results into a framed court martial. Defending Childers is Col. Hays Hodges, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Childers saved Hodges' life in Nam and the elder Marine lawyer feels obligated to return the good deed.

The scenes of engagement are very powerful and gruesome. Childers and Hodges have a knock down, drag out of a fist fight. The films climax kind of fizzles. The movie seems so potent up until the end. Don't underestimate a Marine's ethics or this movie. This is a winner, even if the plot seems so familiar.

William Friedkin directs and there is a decent supporting cast that includes Bruce Greenwood, Ben Kingsley and Ann Archer.