Rules of Engagement

Movie Title: Rules of Engagement

Official Website (it might still work): Rules of Engagement

Rating (out of 10): 7

Buy the: Video/DVD | Soundtrack

The Review:

A compelling story of a marine hero who goes on trial for protecting his men in a hostile environment. This is the gist of Rules of Engagement, a William Friedkin directed film starring Samuel L. Jackson (Star Wars: Episode I) as the marine on trial and Tommy Lee Jones (Double Jeopardy) as his attorney and friend. The movie starts off back in Vietnam where Jones and Jackson are lieutenants leading their platoons into battle. Jackson's character's (Terry Childers) unit captures the command post of the VC troops they are fighting while Jone's troops are being slaughtered. Childers then orders the VC commander at gunpoint to withdraw his troops from attacking Hays Hodges' unit (first he shoots an unarmed radio operator to make his point). Hodges is Jones onscreen name in the film. We then flash forward about 30 years to Col. Hodges' retirement party where he meets his old friend Col. Childers. Hodges was wounded in that battle and had to leave combat for a desk job as a second rate attorney while Childers has continued to climb through the combat ranks. We learn here that he is now to be in charge of a special unit of troops that are sent into dangerous areas. So off he goes and after arriving on the amphibious assault ship he must quickly go into battle to protect the US Embassy in Yemen (it is on the tip of the Arabian peninsula) that is under siege from protesters. Well things start to get ugly when the cavalry arrives. Childers' unit evacuates Ambassador Mourain (Ben Kingsley, The Confession), his wife (Anne Archer), and their son (Hayden Tank) plus the rest of the staff. Then the US troops start taking casualties so Childers orders his troops to return fire into the crowd. They do this and kill about 100 men, women, and children. Ught-ooh, international incident, Washington, we need a scapegoat. Tommy Lee and Samuel L. are great in this film. Rules is well laid out and makes it feel like it is a real life story, but it's not. And that is the one problem I have with it. If a film is not based on a real life story, then do not give out details at the end of the movie as to what happened to whom. Since the film is not real, no one really cares about what happens to the characters after the credits, that's what sequels are for. The rest of the cast includes Bruce Greenwood (Disturbing Behavior)as the evil NSA William Sokal, Blair Underwood as Capt. Lee, Guy Pearce as the repulsive looking (he should not have a buzz cut) prosecuting attorney Major Biggs, Mark Feuerstein, Philip Baker Hall (The Talented Mr. Ripley), and Amidou as the Yemen doctor Ahmar. Anyway, I generally liked Rules of Engagement and give it seven couches. Till next time, later you stinking bastard.