RULES OF ENGAGEMENT A film review by David N. Butterworth Copyright 2000 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
The Sonny and Cher vehicle "Good Times" notwithstanding, William Friedkin's directorial career started strong, with such distinguished movies as "The French Connection," "The Exorcist," and "Sorcerer" (although many critics hated that one) highlighting his résumé. Then began the big decline: "Cruising" and "Deal of the Century," followed by a brief return to form with "To Live and Die in L.A.," and then a spate of films no-one ever heard of--"Stalking Danger," "Rampage," and "Python Wolf." The '90s weren't good to him either: "The Guardian" (a "'Hand That Rocks the Cradle" rip-off), "Blue Chips" (A "Hoosiers" rip-off), and "Jade" (a "'Last Seduction" rip-off).
Genre-wise, Friedkin has been all over the map, but for his latest effort he's settled on the post-Vietnam military courtroom drama "Rules of Engagement," and one can only hope this fine accomplishment is the beginning of an upward trend.
The film is a cross between "Platoon," "Three Kings," and "A Few Good Men" (call it "A King, His Platoon, and a Few Really Bad Men"). It follows the checkered career of Colonel Terry Childers (Samuel L. Jackson), a decorated military officer who, after his successful part in the Vietnam war, is given command of a special operations force off the coast of Yemen.
Dispatched to provide evacuation assistance to the U.S. Embassy under siege by hostile anti-American demonstrators, Childers finds himself in the middle of a volatile situation in which three of his men are killed. With pressure mounting, Childers orders his marines to open fire into the crowd and after the dust has settled, 83 Yemeni men, women, and children lie dead. Charged with murder and facing a military court martial for his role in the botched withdrawal, Childers calls upon his old friend retired Colonel Hays Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones) to defend him.
Childers saved Hodges' life during a Vietnam ambush so Hodges, a self-confessed "weak lawyer," owes him. "I'm a good enough lawyer to know you need a better lawyer than me" Hodges tells Childers. Nevertheless he takes the case.
There's a nice, easy-going chemistry between Jackson and Jones that keeps this film engaging. In addition, Childers' moral dilemma of shooting into an unarmed crowd when his men are dying all around him is given an interesting treatment by screenwriter Steven Gaghan. For the first half of its running time, "Rules of Engagement" paints this situation jet black, and then turns full circle and paints it entirely white, leaving the pivotal "guilty or not guilty" outcome a true nailbiter.
As loud and violent in the courtroom as in its combat sequences (the latter try to out-muscle "'Private Ryan" but don't quite make the grade), "Rules of Engagement" is a tense and gripping thriller buoyed along by uniformly fine performances. Complementing the splendid Jackson and equally impressive Jones are Guy Pearce ("L.A. Confidential") as prosecuting attorney Major Mark Biggs (he's tough as nails), Ben Kingsley as the impotent U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, Bruce Greenwood as National Security Advisor Bill Sokol (Greenwood plays Sokol with an oiliness of Exxon Valdez proportions), and Blair Underwood as one of Childers' captains who's called as a witness. The only disappointment is Anne Archer, who's once again subjected to playing The Wife (this time Ben Kingsley's) without much more than that job description to work with.
This fine cast and credible story is pulled together by the sure hand of director Friedkin who, with this film, has given his sagging career a much-needed shot in the arm. For all of its familiar military scenarios, "Rules of Engagement" is a much better film than anybody might have expected.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@dca.net
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