A Few Good Men

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Hector I I discovered this film through short clips and really thought that Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson's performances were very good. So I watched the film and I wasn't disappointed, quite the contrary! We follow the story of Daniel Kaffee, a young Navy lawyer played by Tom Cruise, who is brilliant but somewhat dilettantish. One day, he is asked to defend two soldiers who allegedly killed a young Marine following a corporal punishment that was customary but prohibited and went wrong, known as code red. He is joined by an internal affairs lawyer played by Demi Moore, who makes him take the case seriously. There is also the prosecution representing the US government against these soldiers. And what a case! We discover a regiment ruled with an iron fist by Colonel Nathan Jessup. We learn that although the two marines are responsible for the young soldier's death, they were ordered to beat him up and there was never any question of reassigning him. Among the three senior officers are Lieutenant Colonel Markinson, who is rather humanistic, and Lieutenant Kendrick, who follows in the colonel's footsteps. The first issue is the corruption of the system, which is based on negotiation, the foundation of American justice. The defense attorneys know the representatives of the US government and cynically negotiate for the defendants to receive reduced sentences. However, the two soldiers do not want to plead guilty, even though they risk life imprisonment, because from their point of view, the young marine had dishonored the code and they were only following orders. This raises the second question of the film: are we responsible for our actions, even if they are immoral? And should we refuse an order? From the Marine Corps command's point of view, there was never a code red requested for this soldier, who was supposed to leave the base the next morning. But the Marines' lawyers discover that the colonel did not tell them everything and that this story is false. But they cannot prove it unless they attack the colonel, who is a powerful man on the verge of moving into the upper echelons of the defense establishment. In addition, tensions arise within the defense team over the concept of responsibility. One of the Marines' lawyers believes that the soldiers are responsible because they did wrong and attacked the weakest people they were supposed to defend. Everyone in the Department of Justice thinks the same, even though they know it was an order from the command. But they are not in the field, and this is the third question raised by the film: administrative bureaucracy versus men in the field. Is the legal and moral order too disconnected from the reality on the ground, which is not even at war? Kaffee will try everything to prove that the command is responsible, because the two soldiers refuse to take the blame, even if it means risking everything, because their honor is at stake here. Kaffee will risk everything because if he accuses the colonel, he will truly compromise his career. He, who was quite lenient, will have to make a choice! A superb, beautiful film that deeply questions our humanity in the face of a strong commitment. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/20/25 Full Review Audience Member Execrable. One of the silliest films ever made that descends into unwitting farce in the most implausible courtroom centrepieces ever committed to film. If you completely lack or are able to suspend critical faculty, you might find this nonsense enjoyable, otherwise it's an absolute waste of acting, directorial & writing talent and of audience's time. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/15/25 Full Review Romas M Greetings from Lithuania. You can safely call "A Few Good Men" a true classic movie. It's a very memorable movie because of great performances, very solid script, and some unforgettable speeches and quotes (with "You can't handle the truth" coming first in to the mind when remembering this picture). It's has interesting story and basically it's a court room and procedure drama. What standout here and makes this movie some sort of classic are great performances by probably all involved (especially by leads), some terrific lines and scenes. Not everything here works, but it's a solid movie. Screenplay by the great Aaron Sorkin is excellent, which was based on his play. Overall, 8/10 for "A Few Good Men". If you haven't seen it, you can safely check this one out - it's a memorable film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/30/25 Full Review Sam K A Few Good Men is a solid courtroom drama with great performances, but the best part is the intense face-off between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson—Nicholson gives the best performance of the film, and he and Cruise have great chemistry. When he yells, “You can’t handle the truth!” it hits hard and totally owns the whole movie. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/13/25 Full Review Jonathan N Nicholson's acting was superb and definitely makes this four stars for me. Demi Moore and Tom Cruise did great too, who am I kidding. Jack Nicholson really played his part perfectly, and so believable. I'm sure there are actual military honchos like this, with egos the size of the moon. Mr. military big wig would have realistically had his own counsel, and I'm sure they would have required that he take the 5th. Minus a star for the Perry Mason ending. Regardless, it makes for good theatre I suppose. Somehow they managed to make trial preparation look mildly interesting and the film kept a good pace even though it easily could have lagged. Overall, a great courtroom drama. A true classic, and while not my favorite movie, or even that exciting from my point of view, definitely mandatory viewing. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/29/25 Full Review Jed M. Classic. YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH!!! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/25 Full Review Read all reviews

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