Plot: What’s it about?
If the casting of this movie doesn’t tempt you to see this it, then I might paraphrase out of a review I read when this movie came out. “Combining the talents of the Director of The French Connection and The Excorcist into a movie that is a bit like A Few Good Men and Platoon…”. Well, that about says it all. Director William Friedken has assembled a top notch cast that is headlined by Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. Supporting roles take form in Guy Pearce, Blair Underwood, Ben Kingsley, Anne Archer, Phillip Baker Hall and Bruce Greenwood. Given the overall popularity of courtroom dramas these days, comibned with the appeal of war movies (think ‘Saving Private Ryan’), it would seem that this movie had it’s work cut out. Of course, how could a movie that has been compared to two such great movies as Platoon and A Few Good Men, live up to the so-called hype? Simple. It must deliver.
Starting out in Vietnam, we meet Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones) and Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) in combat as they’re fighting the Vietnamese. Their decision literally comes down to the flip of a coin and the careers of the two men is changed forever. Wounded in battle, Hodges goes to Georgetown Law school, where he eventually graduates 68th in his class. Childers decides to stay in the field and both attain the rank of Colonel and are highly decorated Marine officers. The real meat of the movie, a defining moment if you will, comes when Childers is sent into Yemen to rescue the American Ambassador from a rioting crowd. Not expecting what they see, Childers and his men dodge bullets left and right to save Ambassador Mourain (Ben Kingsley) and his family from getting killed. This is just one task, however. Snipers are shooting and kill three of Childers’ men, and while in a rage orders an open fire to stop the assualt. It works, but all too well. What’s left is a bloodbath with 83 men, women and children dead and no weapons found. It’s then that the ‘war’ part of the movie ends and the courtroom part begins…
Childers asks good friend, Hodges, to serve as his lawyer during his court marshall process. Hodges puts it bluntly by saying “I’m a good enough lawyer to know that you’ll need a better lawyer than me”. But we know this won’t happen…Under tremendous odds, it seems that the case is literally open and shut against Childers. Loose ends abound, but are taken care of in some very unorthodox ways. It’s not until we meet Biggs (Guy Pearce) that we really see what the defense is up against. I couldn’t help but to compare this to A Few Good Men here (not because the review mentioned it) but it had the same framework and seemingly hopeless situation. One thing we forget is that a LOT of people like A Few Good Men, so it might stand to reason that we might want to see some more of the same (myself included). Spiraling its way into a climax, Rules of Engagement is a movie that I really liked to watch. While I disagreed with some of the points in the movie and thought that some of the actors were drastically underused, I can say that this movie made me think. Going into the movie with one expectation is what they want you to think, but then watch it again and see it from the other side. That’s the beauty of the movie, you can be for the “good guys” or the “bad guys” and they’re really both the same people. For me, it was good to see Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones in a movie together. They’re both typical “tough guys” who share a passion for acting and are good at what they do. My only complaint is that with a cast as large and diverse (and full of other great actors), is that they go underused. If you like the genre, you’ll be at home here.
Video: How does it look?
Paramount has given us another great-looking transfer. The image, presented in it’s original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, is enhanced for 16:9 TV’s. While a majority of the movie takes place in a courtroom, the images seem to be washed out. This is due to the film and not the fault of the transfer. When in Yemen (during the battle sequence), the colors are warm and natural with a yellowish tint to reflect the atomsphere of the desert. When in Vietnam, the colors are dark and drab to reflect the atmospher of war. I noticed very little artifacting and shimmering. One scene, though, bothered me. When Hodges and Childers are walking through the woods, the image seems to shake a bit, but when I saw the same scene “do” the same thing during the featurette (both of them), I stopped worrying and started to wonder if it was supposed to shake. My only guess is that I assume so, as it shimmered three seperate times during the course of the disc. Nevertheless, Paramount continues to impress by not only providing great transfers of their new movies, but their seemingly endless catalog titles as well.
Audio: How does it sound?
Parts of Rules of Engagement ignite your speakers to no end. Various battle scenes with bullets whizzing, grenades blowing up and almost every kind of noise that you can expect during battle go off in the course of these scenes. However, most of the film takes place in the courtroom and is hence, dialog-driven. A few flashback scenes remind you of how good this can sound, and presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, the soundtrack is very agressive during these scenes (as they need to be). Dialog is clear and free from any distortion, and during the majority of the movie, the range is limited to the front three speakers. It’s during the battle scenes (that start at the opening credits) that you can really tell the dynamics of the soudtrack. Overall, it’s a nice mix and it has just the “right mix” to satisfy the demands of the different parts of the movie.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Paramount must be listening to us, because they continue to hammer out these new movies that are containing more and more supplemental material. While I’m not sure that these could be considered “Special Editions”, it’s a step up from what some studios are putting out. Most noteably is the full-length commentary by Director William Friedken. Friedken, who directed two of the most popular movies of the last 50 years (The French Connection and The Excorcist) is very informative in the commentary track and was very happy with the cast and material that he had to work with. While not a whole lot of insight was provided, it’s still a screen specific commentary and a welcome addition to the disc. In addition, interviews with the cast and crew are included that take place after the film has been produced, mostly the actors commenting on how good it was to work with the other actors, etc. The real information comes from the Behind the Scenes featurette that literally outlines the film’s plot. Interviews taken while on the set show how the shots were set up and how the cast and crew got ready for the making of the movie. Overall, while not a fully-loaded disc, it should have enough to keep any fan of the movie occupied for about 4 hours. And getting more for your money is something that is always good…
