I can’t believe that it has been 15 years since A Few Good Men was first released in theaters! It doesn’t seem that long ago at all. I think I’ve mentioned before that I don’t have a very large DVD collection of my own because there aren’t many movies that I would want to watch again and again. A Few Good Men happens to be one that I never get tired of — and I’ve seen it at least 10 times now.
The script is by Aaron Sorkin, who is one of my favorite screenwriters. I enjoyed one of his other films, The American President, and his TV series The West Wing. Sorkin’s work is usually filled with a compelling plot and great dialog, which are qualities that I really value. So it really should come as no surprise that I like A Few Good Men so much.
The movie opens with a hazing incident in the Marine barracks at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Unfortunately, the victim of the action, a Pfc. William T. Santiago, died as a direct result of what happened to him. Two Marines, Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson and Pfc. Louden Downey, were arrested for the so-called “Code Red” and are charged with murder. The military court appoints Lt. Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise) to be their advocate.
Kaffee is soon joined on the case by Lt. Cdr JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore), who thinks that someone is trying to get the whole incident swept under the rug. Why else would a murder case be given to an inexperienced lawyer with a history for getting his clients to go for plea bargains? Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak) also joins the defense team to provide support in gathering evidence and developing the trial strategy.
As the film progresses, we follow Kaffee’s team as they investigate what might have really happened on the night in question. They interview the commanding officers at Gitmo — Col. Nathan R. Jessup (Jack Nicholson), Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson (J.T. Walsh), and Lt. Jonathan Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland) — and discover that the Code Red might actually have been an order from the very top.
From there, we get some very intense courtroom scenes, including Nicholson’s now famous “You can’t handle the truth” speech.
I’ve read some critcisms of A Few Good Men, and most of these point out that Sorkin dulls the effect of the ending by having the Cruise character tell everyone exactly what’s going to happen in court. While I can see why people would feel this way, I don’t agree. The first time I saw that scene, I was on the edge of my seat even though I did know what was coming. As a matter of fact, I’ve found that the ending is still very dramatic after repeat viewings, so I think this particular critcism is unwarranted.
No, A Few Good Men is not a perfect movie, and there are some rather boring scenes along the way that feel a bit out of place in the film. But on the whole, it’s a very engrossing and entertaining story. I give it 4 stars out of 5.
I started drinking green tea a few months ago after reading about all the health benefits that the body derives from that beverage. Ever since then, I’ve been on the lookout for a good place to buy my tea from, especially when I’m not in Japan.
Every woman knows that using a facial moisturizer is a critical component of any skin care regimen. I have friends that spend hundreds of dollars per year on high-end skin products that claim to work wonders, but in my experience there’s not much difference between those expensive creams and the ones you can buy at Walgreen’s. 
Romance is one fiction genre that I generally try to stay away from. I’m just not really interested in reading about sappy love affairs. Sure, there have been fantastic romance novels — true classics — produced along the way (Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice immediately come to mind), but by and large the genre conjures up images of those cheesy Harlequin numbers.