A Few Good Men (1992)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  7 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: Rob Reiner and Aaron Sorkin's 'A Few Good Men,' follows a reluctant lawyer Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) defending two marines who are accused by their division of accidentally killing a fellow private by their own accord. That story has all the ingredients for a great legal drama; a case with a degree of mystery surrounding whether officers (Jack Nicholson and Kiefer Sutherland) gave instructions to perform an act of violence to teach the late marine a lesson; a (slightly hammy) moral quandary about whether it's right to go to such extreme lengths to make the little guys big to supposedly protect a country, and a character journey from ambivalence to passion for Daniel. It's all brought to life by a set of brilliantly committed performances, and the final confrontation between Nicholson and Cruise is magnetic; one fighting for honesty and openness, one for old-fashioned bullishness and pride.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: As ever with Sorkin, the dialogue is extremely grandstanding and contrived to an extent that it often takes you out of the drama.
  
  VERDICT: 'A Few Good Men,' is a hammy but engaging legal drama with a relatively compelling story and elevating performances.

  Like?

  1 member likes this review.