Hayes Hodges finds his career aspirations dashed when he's wounded in Vietnam. He returns to America and becomes a disillusioned lawyer who goes up against the Service to defend Colonel Terry Childers, who is accused of inciting an incident that leaves many demonstrators dead. Hodges is in no position to decline: Childers saved his life in Vietnam.Written by
Ronos
When released in Spain, the movie title was literally translated resulting in "Reglas de compromiso". Engagement in English can be translated like in the original title as the behavior when two opposing forces come into contact or as near future wedding. Spanish language however uses different words for these two concepts, and the one referring to "wedding" was mistakenly used is the Spanish title creating a misleading title with no relation to the actual movie plot. See more »
Goofs
As Col. Childers gets out of his car to confront a man who spits on his uniform, many people in the crowd of reporters move positions between shots and a large boom microphone appears overhead. See more »
Quotes
Colonel Hayes Hodges:
[final arguments of the defense]
Colonel Hayes Hodges:
[presenting a photo of the embassy to juries]
That is sovereign United States territory as much as if it were in Ohio or Maryland. Colonel Childers didn't volunteer to go over there, he was ordered to go over there because he was the best man for the job. We armed him, we trained him, we sent him over there to risk his life to save other Americans and then ask him not to return fire? There are over three hundred bullet holes in this building. Colonel Childers ...
See more »
Alternate Versions
Some international prints, made for DVD/TV broadcast, have removed the Paramount logo and fade straight into the Seven Arts Pictures logo. The opening titles also now read "Seven Arts Pictures Present in association with Paramount Pictures". This is due to the fact that Seven Arts owned the international rights and wanted prime credit. See more »
This is a military court martial movie with a few similarities to A Few Good Men. It did not have as much suspense, but overall it was still quite good. I thought the situation in Yemen made it very applicable to current day problems in Arab-American relations. The movie was released before the USS Cole attack, which reinforces the possibility of the event in question in the court-martial. I don't think the massacre that occurred would have been quite so bloody in a real world situation though.
The performances of Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Guy Pearce were very good. Probably no Oscars here, but well worth watching.
42 of 70 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
This is a military court martial movie with a few similarities to A Few Good Men. It did not have as much suspense, but overall it was still quite good. I thought the situation in Yemen made it very applicable to current day problems in Arab-American relations. The movie was released before the USS Cole attack, which reinforces the possibility of the event in question in the court-martial. I don't think the massacre that occurred would have been quite so bloody in a real world situation though.
The performances of Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Guy Pearce were very good. Probably no Oscars here, but well worth watching.