Rules of Engagement (2000)

Should be viewed by anyone considering a career in the service. Great performances by a coupl of our best actors. Sadly the topic is an all too familiar one of the government selling out the men and women who serve it.

Fmovies: It occurs to me after seeing "The Rules of Engagement" how one thing can lead to another. 'Point'... things are not always as they would seem to be. For Hayes Hodges,(Tommy Lee Jones) a sort of 'underdog' lawyer, who is taking a case that, he feels he has been pulled into. You can see the doubt in his eyes. National Security Adviser Sokal, played by(Bruce Green)a great 'pick' for that role!! Sokal, is viewing an American embassy security video tape, wants to bury the copy, for his own career appeasement. Sokal offers no help, and seems in all sense to be anti-military as his actions show that he is not there to find the truth, rather to get an answer that will sit well with his boss and in the public's eye.

This shows the lack of backing that the government will sometimes give to the troops, or some military situations that tend to be to 'politically hairy', when the media takes over, bringing heat and starting to paint a picture about a story that is not fully accurate. That will get some people in harms way, fast and to some certain death! Samuel L Jackson(Childers) and Tommy Lee Jones' (Hayes Hodges) characters, are close friends. When Terry Childers approaches Hodges, with a crisis on his hands, it makes his friend that has 'chewed jungle' with Terry before, very uneasy and of of center. Hayes in his quest for answers takes a plane trip to the embassy and the surrounding city to investigate further, but ends up not liking what he is learning. Furthermore, Terry looks as if he has painted himself into a corner, by the story he has given to 'Hodge' and with Ambassador Mourain (Ben Kingsley) who Childers was coming to take out (rescue) from a fiery situation, is not any help at this point at all for Terry's defense. Guy Pierce plays an upcoming and hungry prosecutor, (Maj. Mark Biggs) who wants Jackson's character, to do nothing less than prison, for a middle eastern incident at an American base in Yemen. With Hodge getting upset and the upsetting turning to anger, things are starting to get done.

This is an excellent military drama that ranks with "A Few Good Men" only prefer this one, over, "Santiago had no code!" as far as an enveloping action drama story. Some will disagree, but this one doesn't let you down. Recommended highly!(****) Great direction, William Friedkin

Soldiers have been fighting since time immemorial. Equally long has been their history of military conduct in the field. Among the stories of men in combat is, at some point the established proper rules of behavior. As a result, a nation's flag becomes a symbol of the soldier's code of conduct. Too many men have paid the price to disgrace it in our modern era. Among the various branches of service, the U.S. Marine Corps, has created a plethora of heroic memories which exemplify their valiant attributes. Their courage have bequeathed to their country a magnificence unparalleled among the nations. That is the stage for this movie called " Rules of Engagement. " A decorated Marine Col. Hayes Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones) has retired after an illustrious career and now seeks peace and quiet for his retiring years. Unfortunately, a fellow Marine, one Col. Terry Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) has been ordered to rescue an American Ambassador (Ben Kingsley) from a besieged embassy in Yemen which is under hostile and armed mob attack. When his men come under direct fire from snipers and an armed crowd, some his men are killed. Without hesitation Childres orders return fire and eighty civilians are killed. When he returns to the U.S. Childers is arrested on charges of murder. Now Maj. Mark Biggs (Guy Pearce) is ordered by the National Security Adviser (Bruce Greenwood) to make an example of what he called a maniacal murdering marine with a hair trigger. If convicted, Childers faces a harsh 15 years in prison or execution. The courtroom drama is superior as is the gathered cast. An excellent film which gives due credit to our Servicemen and establishes the foundation of a military Classic. ****

Rules of Engagement fmovies. This story gets the viewer involved with it right away never lets up, with good performances all around, although Tommy Lee Jones stands out a bit above the rest.

There are some outstanding action scenes in the first 30 minutes and if you have a 5.1surround system, it gets quite a workout. After that, the story settles down into a court battle.

Its politics are typical Hollywood: the government is corrupt with the main villain the National Security Adviser who burns a video tape that would clear a U.S. Marine colonel from being framed for murder. That colonel also is a black man which makes the story even more politically correct. Samuel J. Jackson plays that role, a Col. "Terrry Childers." Jones plays his attorney, "Col. Hayes Hodges." The two veteran actors play off each other very well.

It gets even more dramatic when two other witnesses lie and make justice look almost impossible to attain in the case. But, dramatics aside, it's a good story and certainly an entertaining one. Once again, William Friedkin has directed a good movie.

This is a military court martial movie with a few similarities to A Few Good Men. It did not have as much suspense, but overall it was still quite good. I thought the situation in Yemen made it very applicable to current day problems in Arab-American relations. The movie was released before the USS Cole attack, which reinforces the possibility of the event in question in the court-martial. I don't think the massacre that occurred would have been quite so bloody in a real world situation though.

The performances of Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Guy Pearce were very good. Probably no Oscars here, but well worth watching.

Headed by two unnerving performances, this film takes us on a journey through the gray area that is our military morality today. We live in a society insulated from realistic depictions of war. We get censored CNN and FOX news. We rarely get anything insightful, so it is a pleasure to have HOLLYWOOD offer up one of the most moving anti-military films in the past ten years. While the courtroom drama is by all means standard, the most unique attention is paid to the changing perception of TLJ's character. In his journy to defend, he comes to an all too real understanding of a culture whose leaders have no problem sending our boys to die, yet they themselves are either ignorant of the reality, or to politically motivated to be moved by it. In conclusion, this is an alienating film because it presents an alien culture that lives by its own moral code. That alien culture isn't middle eastern... it is our own military.

One more point; Watching this film post 911 gives it an all too creepy reality.