Rules of Engagement Review
By Joe Lozito
Colonel Slanders
Lately, Samuel L. Jackson seems to be accepting scripts solely based on his costars. 1999's "The Negotiator" was a competent thriller which broke little new ground but featured powerhouse performances by Mr. Jackson and Kevin Spacey. Now, "Rules of Engagement" is a competent but unaffecting courtroom drama which breaks even less ground and features the powerhouse performances of Mr. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones. Whereas "The Negotiator" was the slick directorial effort of relative newcomer F. Gary Gray, "Rules" features veteran William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) behind the wheel.
Mr. Friedkin knows how to tell a taut story, and his characters - with the possible exception of Bruce Greenwood's moustache-twirling National Security Advisor - are always given shades of moral grayness, but "Rules" has little to say.
Mr. Jackson and Mr. Jones fit the bill comfortably as two been-there-done-that Colonels who have actually seen battle, unlike the "Starbucks drinkers" running things nowadays - embodied with a questionable, but consistent, accent by Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential). When Col. Childers (Mr. Jackson) is accused of firing into an unarmed crowd, he calls upon his old marine buddy Hayes Hodges (Mr. Jones) to defend him.
There are some fine moments here - particularly Mr. Jones' vehemence that he is not a good lawyer. In fact, Mr. Jones gives his most subdued performance in years. This is a welcome contrast to Mr. Jackson's often over the top outbursts. Unfortunately, the film folds into a standard "A Few Good Men" military trial. By the time the verdict is rendered, it seems anticlimactic and arbitrary - possibly because neither side gives very convincing arguments. It's not so much that the audience can't handle the truth, it's just that the truth is was never in question.
