Great acting,Great movie one the best!

Another excellent job for Tom Cruise. I didn't expect him to be able to pull this off.

I might have gone into a military/Navy mood at the moment (bought An Officer and a Gentleman on DVD the other day) but even leaving that aside as best I can, this is a great movie. The acting is superb from a star-studded cast of big names, the story... (read more) I might have gone into a military/Navy mood at the moment (bought An Officer and a Gentleman on DVD the other day) but even leaving that aside as best I can, this is a great movie. The acting is superb from a star-studded cast of big names, the story is simple and to the point but simultaneously essential and universal, and the story is still relevant today.

PS: I can't help but mention the Tom Cruise impression currently circulating on You Tube where he allegedly auditions for New Moon - hilarious and an AMAZING impression!

"You can't handle the truth!"

You don't need to wear a patch on your arm to have honor

Well Ive seen all Nicholson's great performances now. A courtroom drama that will do everything but bore. A great all-star cast. Seems like they cast the roles of the two soldiers last, ran out of money, and took the two off the street because they w... (read more) Well Ive seen all Nicholson's great performances now. A courtroom drama that will do everything but bore. A great all-star cast. Seems like they cast the roles of the two soldiers last, ran out of money, and took the two off the street because they were pretty crappy. Other than that, great movie.

In one of the most telling scenes in this movie, Navy Lieutenant Commander Jo Galloway (Demi Moore), a lawyer who is helping to defend two Marines on trial for murder, is asked why she likes these guys so much. And she replies, `Because they stand on... (read more) In one of the most telling scenes in this movie, Navy Lieutenant Commander Jo Galloway (Demi Moore), a lawyer who is helping to defend two Marines on trial for murder, is asked why she likes these guys so much. And she replies, `Because they stand on a wall, and they say ‘nothing is going to hurt you tonight, not on my watch'.' Which veritably sums up the sense of duty and honor which underscores the conflict of `A Few Good Men,' directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise. There is a code by which a good Marine must live and die, and it is: Unit, Corps, God, Country. But to be valid, that code must also include truth and justice; and if they are not present, can the code stand? Which is the question asked by director Reiner, who examines the parameters of that code with this film, which centers on the murder of a young Private First Class named William Santiago, who was killed while stationed at the Marine Corps base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After what is in this day and age a remarkable run for a drama on Broadway, 497 performances from 1989 to 1991 Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men was given the class A treatment in terms of a cast. It was also nominated in several categories for Oscars, including Jack Nicholson as the powerful and malevolent commandant of the U.S. Marines on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba for Best Actor.
One of the many Nicholson quoted lines by impersonators is that famous "you can't handle the truth" during a cross examination. Tom Cruise who asks the question for which that's the answer is not so certain he can and neither is the audience which is riveted to their collective seats watching this courtroom duel.
Every player worth his salt wants a courtroom drama in their resume because of the inherent conflict and drama built in on a good case.As Jessup, Nicholson gives a commanding performance, and once he enters the film you can sense the tension he brings to it, which begins to swell immediately, and which Reiner does a great job of maintaining right up to the end. Jessup is a soldier of the old guard, a man of narrow vision and a particular sense of duty; to Jessup there's two ways of doing things: His way and the wrong way. He's a man who-- as he says-- eats breakfast three hundred yards away from the enemy, and he's not about to let a couple of lawyers in dress whites intimidate him. And that's exactly the attitude Nicholson brings to this role. When he speaks, you not only hear him loud and clear, you believe him. It's a powerful performance and, as you would expect from Nicholson, entirely convincing and believable.
Cruise, also, gives what is arguably one of the best performances of his career as Kaffee. He perfectly captures the aloofness with which Kaffee initially regards the case, as well as the determination with which he pursues it later. Cruise is convincing in the role, and some of the best scenes in the film are the ones he plays opposite Nicholson in the courtroom, the most memorable being one in which Kaffee exclaims to Jessup, `I want the truth!' to which Jessup replies, `You can't handle the truth!' And the atmosphere fairly crackles.