# Rules of Engagement (2000)

### reviewed by
Steve Rhodes

    RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
    A film review by Steve Rhodes
    Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes
    RATING (0 TO ****):  ** 1/2

Entertaining balderdash, RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, by director William Friedkin (THE FRENCH CONNECTION and TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.), is the best bad movie this year. (Okay, I admit it, the year is still young.) With a jingoistic plot that's borderline parody, the movie is likely to elicit unintentional laughter from its audiences. Still, no matter how ridiculous Stephen Gaghan's script becomes, the director keeps the action fast-paced enough that it keeps you involved in the intrigue.

Among the movie's long laundry list of problems is the miscasting of some of the key leads. Guy Pearce comes across way too slimy as the prosecutor, and Tommy Lee Jones should never have been chosen to play a quiet, sympathetic loser -- an alcoholic who lacks confidence in himself. If you pay the big bucks for Jones, don't rein him in with such a constraining part.

But, the picture remains as riveting as it is infuriating. Characters make stupid mistakes, usually for no discernable reasons. Nevertheless, Friedkin manages to make an interesting movie. It's a film that will engross you while you're there but will fall apart in your mind as you begin to think about it later.

James Webb's story concerns a rescue mission gone bad. When the American Embassy in Yemen is attacked, three helicopters of American Marines are sent in under the command of Colonel Terry L. Childers (Samuel L. Jackson). When the troops arrive, they find the Ambassador (Ben Kingsley) and his wife (Anne Archer) frightened out of their minds. With conspicuous bravery and courage, Col. Childers saves the family and his country's flag.

Up until this point in the picture, the tension is palpable. When the helicopters are shown on their way in, your adrenaline will pump right along with that of the young troops.

After losing three of his men and with others wounded, Col. Childers decides that they must return fire. Believing that he sees the gunfire coming from the crowd, he orders his troops to fire on the men, women and children. The net result of this is that the other side stops firing, but it creates an international incident since almost a hundred people die. When the Yemens clear the courtyard they claim to have found no weapons whatsoever. They say that the crowd was peaceful and that the Marines should have fired only on the rooftop snipers.

After an unshown investigation, Col. Childers is ordered to be court-martialed. In another of the story's illogical aspects, he is given only eight days after he is charged before his trial begins. Apparently he hasn't been taking the case very seriously since he hasn't even retained a lawyer. When forced to find one, he goes for a friend.

For his attorney, Col. Childers turns to his old buddy from Vietnam, Colonel Hayes Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones), a recently retired soldier. Col. Hodges, who graduated 67th in his law school class has lost as many cases as he has won, so the prosecution is elated by the choice. "I'm a good enough lawyer to know that you need a better lawyer than me," Col. Hodges warns his old buddy, who dismisses the advice.

Bruce Greenwood plays William Sokal, a duplicitous National Security Advisor who destroys evidence and intimidates a witness in order to ensure that Col. Childers is made the scapegoat that the government needs. Like so many of the other characters in this hackneyed script, you've seen someone like Sokal in a hundred other movies.

There is a scene just after the verdict is rendered that will have everyone in the audience thinking, "no way!" To be fair, though, the movie is almost as much fun as it is ludicrous. Almost.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT runs 2:07. It is rated R for war violence and language and would be acceptable for teenagers.

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

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