Directed by:  William Friedkin
Written by:  Stephen Gaghan, James Webb
Starring:  Samuel L. Jackson, Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce, Blair Underwood, Anne Archer, Philip Baker Hall
 

April 21, 2000

         I can just see the pitch for this film:  Let’s get two big Hollywood actors for this terrorist/military movie, let’s say Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis.  Wait a second, they were already in a film together, wasn’t it called The Siege.  Wasn’t that the one where there were terrorists, and we questioned how far the military would go to keep our country safe.  Oh sure, but who cares about cliché plots, let’s just keep feeding them the same ol’--, well, you know what I mean.  All they want is big stars.  Hey what if we got Samuel L., yeah, we can promote Shaft in front of it.  Plus, he yells better than anyone else, he’ll be perfect for the trailer.  You ask if I'm worried the plot is too much like Courage Under Fire or A Few Good Men?  Hey, both of those made money.
         Rules of Engagement is the same old big budget Hollywood crap.  That’s the easiest way to put it.  They got two name stars, Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones, and a known director, William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist, and made a bogus film. 
         Friedkin was obviously trying to copy the cinematography from Saving Private Ryan in the opening Vietnam scene.  Only problem, it seemed fake.  First of all, don’t have Jackson and Jones play themselves 28 years earlier.  They look the same age as they do 28 years later; this lacks common sense. 
         Sure, the film brings up an interesting issue:  How far is too far for the military to go to protect their own men?  But the whole time, I’m actually siding against what Colonel Terry Childers (Jackson) did.  The whole point of the military is that these men are trained to use guns.  Therefore they shouldn’t shoot aimlessly into a crowd.  As an easy out to convince us Childers was right for what he did, a little girl is shown with a gun, shooting at our military.  Give me a break, that was just sick. 
         This whole issue is just put aside later anyhow as the film turns into a cliché conspiracy film to hang Childers out to dry.  They were too scared to touch on the real issue here. 
         Rules of Engagement is a sorry excuse for a military political movie, obviously trying to be like A Few Good Men with the ending.  Maybe one of these days Hollywood will learn that it just doesn’t take good actors to make a good film.  Hey, what do they care, Rules of Engagement was number one on it’s opening weekend; they made their money, and that’s what it’s all about.
 

Recommended Alternatives:  A Few Good Men, The Exorcist (d: Friedkin), Pulp Fiction (s: Jackson), The Fugitive (s: Jones) 

-Reviewed in Theater-

Nominated for
3 Fidelio Film Awards