WarGames Revisited Part 2 "Is this a game, or is it real?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, now we are into October its time for yet another post and this will be another revisit (another yes sorry!) but of an older post, which was a review of a film I've just re-watched, which is the sci-fi thriller, WarGames starring Matthew Broderick.  So, this will be the usual expansion to certain sections as before with all my other revisits. 

So, with that said, let's take another look at this classic thriller 43 years after its release... 

STORY 

OK, so the film begins with two missile wing controllers Captain Lawson and Lt Phelps (John Spencer and Michael Madsen) receiving orders to launch a nuclear strike.  However, as they come to the moment, Lawson refuses to turn his key as he can't face the idea of the devastating consequences. The result of this sees the systems engineers at NORAD, lead by Dr John McKittrick (Dabney Coleman) proposing that the men in the silos are taken out of the loop and replaced without automated relays. McKittrick suggests that they use a supercomputer within the base, called the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) which constantly runs military simulations, which the president's advisors agree to.

Meanwhile, David Lightman (Broderick), who is a school student in a Seattle high school, is an underachiever in class, but is also intelligent and a talented hacker.  On receiving poor grades, David finds the school's office password to hack into their school records computer systems and changes his grades to avoid going to summer school, which he also does for his classmate, Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) although she initially tells him not to.

Later on, David finds out about a computer company called Protovision, who are bringing out some exciting new computer games.  The company is based in Sunnyvale California, so David uses his computer to call every number in Sunnyvale, during this he comes into contact with a computer that doesn't identify itself, and he probes it to find out further info, by asking for a list of games, it comes up with ones such as Chess, Backgammon, Poker and slightly heavier ones such as Theatre Wide Biotoxic Chemical Warfare, and finally Global thermonuclear war.

David goes to visit some of his hacker friends with Jennifer, and they suggest he find out more about who designed the system.  David does so and tracks information on Stephen Falken (John Wood), which he got from the game on his list "Falken's Maze", who was a researcher in AI, but since passed away, but he also had a son named Joshua.

David after much guessing soon twigs that the password to enter the system is Falken's son, Joshua, and enters into the computer, which then makes contact with the WOPR at NORAD, where David unwittingly asks to play Global thermonuclear war with the computer, which it obliges.  However as David plays the game, the WOPR plays the game as a simulation at NORAD, which alerts the personnel there, who at first think its a possible nuclear attack from the Russians (as David opted to play as the Russian side), but it is soon averted, and they manage to track the source of the hack, i.e. in Seattle where David lives.

David himself is soon arrested by FBI agents who take him to NORAD where he is interrogated, but he insists that he just entered their system to play a game and nothing more.  However David logs into the computer and talks to "Joshua" again who is set on completing the game, by continuing the simulation, and feeding misinformation such as Soviet bombers and submarines to the people at NORAD.  David also asks it information about Falken's address, and his alias "Dr Robert Hume", but before he can go any further, he is taken by the FBI and placed in a holding room.  David however manages to use his hacking skills to escape the room, and sneak out of the NORAD facility, posing as one of the tourists of the facility, he gets on a bus.

David then asks Jennifer for help, who meets up with him as they travel to the address where Falken lives, and they soon find him, as he lives alone (now a widow) and David asks him to help diffuse the situation with "Joshua" but he refuses.  As David and Jennifer are about to leave (and make out!) Falken changes his mind and flies them in a chopper to the NORAD base where he implores with General Beringer (Barry Corbin) to ignore the WOPR's projections and to call off any US counterattacks, which he does and they soon find out the WOPR's projected attacks are indeed simulations.

However after this the WOPR decides to try and find the codes to launch the missiles and complete the game, and from here on, its up to David and Falken to try and stop literal global thermonuclear war...

THOUGHTS 

WarGames is a very entertaining thriller, which I have fond memories of since I first saw around about the time of its release on VHS (yep I am old!).  The whole cold war situation has been told in several films prior to this one, most notably in Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb" and "Fail safe" directed by Sidney Lumet.

But where WarGames succeeds really well is by taking the teenager factor into the film and let it not just be about a bunch of military and computer personnel all talking and debating in the war room, and in doing so it helps inject a bit more fun into the proceedings. David Lightman is also a likeable character, who is clearly very intelligent and resourceful, and he uses that to his advantage throughout the film, when hacking into NORAD and even escaping from it!

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

Performance wise, the cast are all on excellent form here. 

Starting with Matthew Broderick who is great as David, the young hacker, who unwittingly hacks into NORAD and nearly ends up causing nuclear war. This was only Broderick's second film feature, as he first appeared in comedy drama, Max Dugan Returns, which was also Kiefer Sutherland's first film interestingly enough. 

So, Broderick has quite a few scenes worth mentioning, starting with the scene where David in biology class, mocks the teacher who asks the question "Who suggested the first production without sex?".  And as David mutters to his classmates "His wife" and they all laugh, the teacher looks at David wearily and asks him "Alright, Lightman. Maybe you could tell us who first suggested the idea of reproduction without sex?" and David smiles and replies "Emm, your wife??" and as the class erupts into laughter, the teacher furiously points to the door and says "Get out, Lightman! Get out!". 

Then we have the scene where David looks at a new games brochure from the company Protovision and he goes up to his room and makes a call to find what pre-fix codes are within the Sunnyvale area, California and he get's his computer to dial all the numbers within those code areas. So, in the scene after get's off the phone with the information services, he says to himself "Protovison, I have you now!" which is basically a quote from Star Wars (as Darth Vader said the line without Protovision of course!).

Then there is the scene where David having tried everything he can think of to try and find the password to play the war games, Jennifer comes round to his place and he shows her a video tape of Falken.  And Jennifer reads Falken's obituary and David suddenly asks her as she talks about her father, "What was his name?" and Jennifer asks "My father?" and David says "No, no, Falken's kid!" and she looks at the obituary and tells him "Joshua".  So, David says to himself "It can't be that simple!" and he enters Joshua onto his computer, which then causes some weird activity to occur and David, exicted says "Wow! We got something!".

Another good scene is when David at NORAD, hacks into one of the computers to talk to Joshua and on Joshua showing David some project kill ratios from the games, David types in "Is this a game or is it real?" and Joshua says "What's the difference" and David sighs and says "Oh, wow!".  However as Joshua tells David (believing him to be Falken) that he is hard man to reach at his registered address, which it tells David, however one of the secretaries outside spots him and she sends up the FBI to apprehend him and he is dragged out the room.  And David shouts at them "Its not me!  Its Joshua! He's trying to start a war!" and as they ignore him, David shouts "Please call Falken! Call him!  Call him!". 

Then there is the scene where David and Jennifer meet with Falken on his remote island home and he tries to convince him to come back to NORAD to stop Joshua. And as Falken plays the film of the dinosaurs and says "Extinction is part of the natural order" David angrily says "Bullshit!" and he turns off the projector and says "If we're extinguished there's nothing natural about that, its just stupid!".  And as David asks Falken "You won't make a simple phone call?" and Jennifer asks Falken if his real son was still alive would he make the call, Falken tells her "Look maybe you might gaina few years, have a son, see him grow and watch him die. But humanity, planning its own destruction...that a phone call won't stop".  So, David frustrated says to Falken "I knew you weren't always like this! What's the last thing you cared about?!".

And then there is the next scene where David and Jennifer try to find a way off the island where Falken is staying and Jennifer suggests that they swim but David reveals he can't swim. And in the scene David angrily asks "What kind of an asshole lives on island and doesn't have a boat?!" and Jennifer sarcastically asks David "Well what kind of asshole grew up in Seattle and didn't learn how to swim?!". David defensively replies "I just didn't get around to it, OK. I always thought there would be more time" and he laments "I wish didn't know about any of this! And tomorrow it would be just over!".  

Dabney Coleman is also excellent as the head systems analyst at NORAD, McKittrick, who is at odds with General Beringer throughout the film.

And Dabney has some great moments in the film as well such as the one where in a meeting with Beringer and some of the President's staff discuss what to do with the missile wing controllers, who are unwilling to turn the missile keys. So, Beringer says that he will have his men psychiatrically re-screened but McKittrick objects and says to Beringer "Excuse me, sir. We can't send these men back to the President of the United States with a lot of head-shrinker horseshit!".

And then McKittrick asks the men to indulge him as shows them the WOPR and suggests that they use that to maintain the situation with the missile silos and take the controllers out of the loop.  And as Berringer mocks McKittricks suggestion and says "Gentlemen, I would trust this pile of microchips as far as I could throw it! And I certainly wouldn't trust the security of our nation to some silicon diode!" McKittrick wearily says to him "General, no one is talking about trusting the world to a machine, for God's sake! We will keep control but we'll keep it at the top where it belongs!".  And as one of the president's men, Arthur Cabot, says he will put forward McKittrick's suggestion, McKittrick smiles and says "Thank you. You won't regret this!".    

Another good scene is when David is arrested and taken to NORAD, McKittrick speaks to him and leads him to his office. And David asks McKittrick "You worked with Stephen Falken didn't you?" and McKittrick says "I started as his assistant. How did you know that?" and David tells him "I read an article you wrote with him on poke and nuclear war".  McKittrick laughs a little and says "Bluffing! Yeah that shook a few people up" and David says "He must have been pretty amazing" and McKittrick tells David "He was a brilliant man but a little flaky. He never understood the practical uses of his work".  McKittrick then indicates the WOPR to David "This machine over here runs his game program" and David quietly says to himself "Joshua".

McKittrick then shows David the DEFCON sign "See that sign up here - up here. "Defcon." That indicates our current defense condition. It should read "Defcon 5," which means peace. It's still on 4 because of that little stunt you pulled. Actually, if we hadn't caught it in time, it might have gone to Defcon 1. You know what that means, David?". So, David nervously asks "No, what does that mean?" and McKittrick tells him "World War Three".  

Then there is of course the scene where General Beringer tells McKittrick his opinion of the WOPR, and his new defence system "sucks" and an angry McKittrick fires back the best line in the film "I don't have to take that from you, you pig eyed sack of shit!". Beringer then says "Oh, I'm disappointed in a man of your education" and one of Beringer's men says "Excuse me, sir, its the president" and McKittrick nervously asks him "What..what are you gonna tell him?" and Beringer with a serious look tells him "I'm gonna order our bombers back to fail safe, we might have to go through this thing after all".   

Ally Sheedy is also good as Jennifer, David's classmate, and romantic interest (and I think its safe to say that Ally looked her cutest ever here!).

Ally also has some good moments in the film such as the scene where Jennifer gives David a ride on her bike back to his house and he tells her that he won't need to go to summer school to make up his failed grades.

So, as Jennifer says to David "So, you going to summer school to aswell?" and David smiles and says "No, I don't think so" and she asks him "Why not?! You have to make up Biology" and David says "I don't think so" and he tells her to come up to his house and he'll show her how they can change it.  So, as David hacks into the school's computer, he changes his grades and then he goes to change Jennifer's grade, who suddenly becomes nervous and says "Change it back!" and David says "But nobody can find out!" but Jennifer insists "I said change it back!" and David does so and Jennifer, rather annoyed, leaves.  But in a later scene as Jennifer asks David to change her grade after giving it some thought, he tells her he already changed it and he tells her he gave her an "A". So, Jennifer smiles and asks "Did you really give me an A?" and David smiles and says "Yeah" and she grins and says "Thanks!".

Then there is the scene where Jennifer visits David when he hasn't been at school for a week as he has been too busy researching Falken and trying to crack the password to play the games. So, in the scene David explains that he has been researching on Falken and that what he did was great as he taught machines how to learn from their mistakes. David however tells Jennifer that Falken is now dead and he hands her his obituary.

So, Jennifer reads it and says "This is really sad. Did you know the child and his mother were killed in a car crash?" and David says "Yeah, I know".  Jennifer reads from the obituary "In the years that followed the tragic loss of his family, Dr Falken's health deteriorated" and she remembers her own dad "My dad was 45...I remember this one he was sick...".  David however has a thought and asks her "What was his name?" and Jennifer asks "My father?" and David says "No, no, Falken's kid!" and Jennifer looks at the obituary again and tells him "Joshua".  

Of course later there is the scene where Jennifer meets a nervous David at an airport and she surprises him and says "Surprise!".  And David asks her "What are you doing here?" and Jennifer says "Well, you didn't sound too good on the phone" and David nervously tells her "You shouldn't have come here, I'm in big trouble!".  So, Jennifer asks him "Why? David, is this because of what you did with my grade?!".

John Wood is excellent as Falken, the creator of the supercomputer, the WOPR, who initially turns his back on the world, after the death of his wife and son, Joshua, he was officially declared dead, and lived his life in seclusion, only to come back into the scene when David finds him. Interestingly enough while the film was in development back in the late 70's, John Lennon showed an interest in playing the part of Falken but was of course tragically murdered in 1980, three years before the film released.   

Wood has some good scenes aswell such as the one where David tries to convince Falken to come back to NORAD to help them and as he shows David and Jennifer a film of dinosaurs he tells them " a story".  And as Falken tells them "Extinction is part of the natural order" but David angrily says "Bullshit!" and he turns the projector off and tries to convince Falken that he is being stupid.  Falken however then tells David "But humanity planning its own destruction, that a phone call won't stop".

Then there is the scene where Falken along with David and Jennifer arrive at NORAD and Falken tries to convince Beringer not launch a missile attack as the WOPR is playing out a game and Soviet missiles aren't real.  So, Falken first off says hello to McKittrick and he pats him on the arms and says "John, its good to see you!" and he looks to his wife and says "I see your wife still picks your ties!". Falken then speaks to Beringer and says "General, what you see on these screens up here is a fantasy; a computer-enhanced hallucination. Those blips are not real missiles. They're phantoms!".

Falken then approaches Beringer and asks him "General, are you prepared destroy the enemy?" and Beringer says firmly "You betcha!" and Falken then asks him "Do you think they know that?" and Beringer says "I think we've made that perfectly clear!" and Falken then advises Beringer "Then don't!".  Falken then asks Beringer "General, do you really believe that the enemy would attack without provocation, using so many missiles, bombers, and subs so that we would have no choice but to totally annihilate them?!". Falken then pleads with Beringer "General, you are listening to a machine! Do the world a favor and don't act like one".  

Barry Corbin is also great in the film as General Beringer, who remains opposed to the whole idea of the WOPR and automation taking over from the men in the silos.  And Barry get's some of the best lines in the film such as in the scene when Berringer meets with McKittrick at the start and some of the president's advisors and he tells them "Gentlemen, we've had men down in those silos since before you were watchin Howdy Doody! Now I don't know about you but I feel pretty safe at night, knowing those boys are down there".

Another great moment from Corbin is when David is caught in McKittrick's office talking to Joshua via the computer and he is apprended by the FBI, who cart him away.  And as David is dragged out of McKittrick's office, Beringer shouts at the FBI agents "Get that little bastard out of the war room!" and then "What the hell's he doing here anyhow?!".  

Then there is the scene where at NORAD, they have a Soviet Launch Detection and Beringer gravely asks McKittrick "Tell me this is one of your simulations" and McKittick, serious says "Its not, Jack". So, Beringer looks grimly and says to his men "All right. Flush the bombers. Get the subs in launch mode. We are at DEFCON 1!" and the DEFCON sign changes to 1. 

Also later on there is the line where Beringer says to McKittrick after the WOPR takes action to launch the missiles itself, "Mr McKittrick, after some careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that your new defence system sucks!". And as McKittrick insults Beringer by calling him a "pig-eyed sack of shit!" Berringer smiles and says "Oh, I expected more than that from a man of your education!".     

And lastly there is the priceless line where the NORAD staff are all desperately trying to figure out how to disable the WOPR, so David comes over and asks to play the WOPR at the game.  So, as the others protest, Beringer says "Goddamnit!  I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good!" and to the officer, Major Lem, on the computer, he says "Let the boy in there, Major!".

Maury Chaykin is also very good in the film as Jim, an IT worker, who is friendly with David and in his one scene he has some good moments also.

Starting with the moment where David hands a printout of the games he got that include "Global thermonuclear war" to Jim but one of Jim's fellow workers, Malvin, comes right in and snatches it from Jim.  Jim then wrestles the print back and says to Jim "You remember when you asked me to tell you when you were acting rudely and insensitively?" and Malvin nods and Jim tells him "You're doing it right now". Jim reads from the print-out "Theatre wide bio-toxic chemical warfare" and he says to David "This didn't come from Protovision" and Malvin pitches in and suggests its classified and most likely from the military.

So, as David asks how can he break into the system to play the games, Jim tells him "Well you get in through the frontline but you might look for a backdoor". Malvin then protests "I can't believe it, Jim. That girl's standing over there listening and you're telling him about our back doors?!" and Jim angrily turns to Malvin and shouts "Mr Potato Head! Mr Potato Head! Back doors are NOT secrets!".  So, Jim suggests to David "OK, if you want to get in, why don't you try to find out as much as you can about the guy who designed the system".  

And last of all is Eddie Deezen who is good fun in his role as the geeky IT worker, Malvin, who keeps butting in on his co-worker, Jim when he tries to talk.

And Deezen's only scene features some good moments such as the one where Malvin suggests to David that the print-out he got is probably military and classified. And at the start of his scene, Malvin grabs the print-out from Jim's hands and he asks "Wow! Where did you get this?!" and David says "I wanted Jim to see that!" and Jim wrestles back off Malvin and tells him he is acting rudely and insensitively.  So, Jim reads from it and says "This didn't come from Protovision" and Malvin pitches in "Looks military to me. Definitely military! Probably classified, too!" and he warns David "That system probably contains the new data encryption algorithm. You'll never get in there!".

So, Jim then tells David about the "back door" security he adds when designing a system and Malvin complains to Jim of his mentioning it and he points to Jennifer "Come on, Jim! That girl is standing over there and you talk about a back door?!". Jim then angrily yells at Malvin "Mr Potato Head! Back doors are NOT secrets!" and Malvin protests "But, Jim you're giving away our best tricks!".

And as Jim suggests that David find out about how designed the system, David asks how is he supposed to do that as he doesn't even know his name.  So, Malvin grins and says "Man, are you dumb! You guys are so dumb!  I got this figured out all by myself!" and David asks Malvin sarcastically "Oh yeah, Malvin? How would you do it?!" and Malvin tells him "The first game on the list! Go straight through Falken's maze!".  

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

John Badham who actually took over the directorial helm from Martin Brest (Beverly Hills cop director, who was fired from the picture, 12 days into filming after a dispute) does a fine job in building up the suspense, and pacing the film. Badham also keeps the tone of the film somewhat more light hearted by ensuring the characters of David and Jennifer were just two teenagers who were having a bit of fun but ended up unwittingly in danger. Badham would later go on to direct another military themed sci-fi film, Short Circuit involving Johnny 5, the friendly self aware robot.

Badham himself also changed the tone of the film from how it was presented under Brest's direction, which was much darker and this also affected Broderick and Sheedy's performances as they felt nervous they would be fired as they were still acting it out as a dark thriller. Badham however decided to make the film more light-hearted and have the actors be more calm and relaxed and appear to enjoy themselves more after taking over the helm, which does help establish the lighter and enjoyable chemistry Broderick and Sheedy both have on screen.  

The sets of the NORAD base are also very impressive and they were actually re-used for Beverly Hills Cop, directed by the aforementioned Martin Brest.  I also can't resist but enjoy looking at David's now very antiquated looking computer equipment in his room, with the old 5.25" floppy disks, and the IMSAI 8080 microcomputer he has (now resembles something closer in size to a network router!). UPDATE: Actually I was wrong about the size of the disks David uses in the film as it usually an 8 inch disk not 5.25", so apologies for that! 

As for the music score, which is by Arthur B. Rubinstein it is pretty good as well and it is very well suited to the tone of the film and features a mix of orchestral and electronic tracks. And the film's main theme remains quite a memorable one and even if the score has one or two cheesy sounding moments in its use of 80's synths, its still a pretty good one overall.  

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for flaws... yes WarGames it does of course have a few flaws.

First off I think its a ridiculous that David could hack into such an advanced supercomputer by the use of just one simple password as "Joshua".  Its not exactly an airtight security system if that is the case, as it is now common practice in workplaces that computers have to have complex passwords, so that computers account can't be easily be hacked into.  But of course the main defence computer at NORAD has the simple password "Joshua" to hack into it, and bingo you can play it at Global Thermonuclear War!  Its just a bit silly and not too well thought out in terms of computer security or even national security! 

I also thought the idea of having the missile launch codes for the silo missile to be printed on the computer panels, is also really daft, (the code Joshua uses (which is clearly printed on the panel!) again leaving your security wide open for anyone to copy it down, who might have access!  So overall in terms of a computer access and security its not the most well thought out of films.

Another flaw that was later revealed was that they got the DEFCON (Defence condition) system ratings the wrong way round, as they said DECON 5 was Peace and 1 meant War.  However in reality the opposite is true, 1 is Peace and 5 is War.  

UPDATE AND CORRECTION: I would just like to correct the above statement as I got it wrong and the film got it right regarding the numbering for DEFCON, as Defcon 5 is indeed peace and Defcon 1 would signify an imminent nuclear threat. So, apologies for that but then again its something even the filmmakers would surely have looked into!  

I also thought that the whole scene at the start of the film seems a bit daft in that the missile controllers have been asked to launch their missiles, yet its really not clear what their target is and what impact it might have (well apart from a fatal one!).  It basically of course sets up the premise of the film that McKittrick wants to NORAD to take control using automation rather than men in the silos. 

Further to this there is the highly amusing notice outside the silo room which states "anyone caught urinating in the missile silo launch will be discharged!" which I admit to never noticing before watching it again recently! However, this raises the question, how are these guys meant to actually use a toilet if they need to go?! I meant do they have pee bottles or something and I can't imagine what they do if they need to take a dump lol! 

Then there is the scene where David changes his and Jennifer's grades by hacking into the school's computer and he thinks that they couldn't possibly find out, but surely to God they would find out! I mean I'd imagine that the teachers are required to keep a paper record of the students marks, so on that basis they should find out that something's up when David and Jennifer will get fake report cards.  But hey ho, its just another moment glossed over in the film.

Then we have the whole concept of David being able to dial up every number in the Sunnyvale California area, which he does using the hacking concept that came to be known as wardialing (named after this film!). Now, I get the idea is a real concept but what I don't quite get is how does David manage to stay connected all this time while he is out and about?! I think in reality his connection would sooner or later timeout and he would need to reconnect again and would he be able to reconnect to the correct login again as well? Further to this on reading up, David would need to hand dial the numbers himself due to the nature of his phone's acoustic coupler needing someone present to do it, so again this would impossible to do automatically. 

And lastly there is the daft moment in the film is when they close up NORAD and McKittrick's wife contacts Falken by radio and tells him "We're closing up the mountain, once it closes no one is getting in or out!". Now, OK I get that they have to secure the complex in the event of a nuclear war, however given that Falken would prove so urgent in this crisis, why didn't they wait to seal the complex AFTER Falken, David and Jennifer got into NORAD???!!!  But, nope they decide to just put the place on lockdown before they even have a proper chance to get in there and as usual in these movies, they make it through just in the nick of time!  

SUM UP

So, after 43 years, WarGames is still a very entertaining suspense thriller and it features a fine cast all in good form as well as some solid direction from John Badham and a good score by Arthur B Rubenstein.  And its themes of nuclear war and hacking technology still remain relevant as ever today given the current climate with the Ukraine and Gaza wars and its definitely a film that warrants repeated viewing from time to time and overall just a very solid and enjoyable thriller.

So, I will rate WarGames...

9 out of 10 

OK, so that's it for now and I will be back next month at some point with more reviews.

Till the next one, its bye for now! 

Batman Begins Revisited "Nice coat!!"

 

 

 

So, as September is almost over, I figured I would do one more post and this will be a revisit of one of my older ones and it will be one of the first of the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight films, Batman Begins, which saw the franchise reboot with Christian Bale in the dual role. So, as this was an older post, I'll do the usual expansion stuff on it to expand it more.

So, with that said let's take a look at this film, which is unbelievably 21 years old already!

And the warning is coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

STORY 

So, the film begins with Bruce Wayne as a child (played by Gus Lewis) who accidentally falls into a well where he is attacked by a swarm of bats and is later rescued by his father, Thomas (Linus Roache).  As a result Bruce is left terrified by bats and has nightmares and later on when he attends an opera with his parents, Thomas and Margaret (Sara Stewart) which involves performers pretending to be bats, he becomes frightened and they leave.  On leaving the opera house they are mugged by Joe Chill (Richard Brake) who kills Bruce's parents.  Bruce is afterward then taken to the police station where his comforted by an officer, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and later is taken care of by the Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) who reassures Bruce that his parents deaths were not his fault.

The story then moves on to 14 years later when Bruce as a young man (Christian Bale) seeks revenge on Joe Chills, who is granted parole when testifying against crime boss, Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson).  As Joe is escorted from the courthouse, Bruce close by conceals a gun, intent on killing Chills, but before he can one of Falcone's assassins shoots Chills.  Bruce is then picked up by his childhood friend, Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) who is now an assistant district attorney who berates him for trying to take the law into his own hands and she drops him off at Falcone's nightclub.  

Bruce meets with Falcone who tells him that fear is a power that cannot be bought and that he should be grateful that Chills was killed before his men throw Bruce out.  Bruce then decides to travel the world and becomes a criminal himself as he is caught for stealing and placed in a prison in Bhutan.  In the prison Bruce is approached by a man named Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) who offers to train in the arts of stealth and fear as a member of League of shadows, lead by Ra's al Ghul (Ken Watanabe).  

On completing his training, where Bruce confronts his fear of bats, he learns that Ducat's real intentions are to destroy Gotham to rid it of the corruption that has infested it.  Bruce who is then given the task of executing a villager, who committed a crime, refuses to kill the man and instead burns down the League of shadows temple, in which Ra's al Ghul is killed by falling debris and Bruce rescues Ducat and takes him to the local villagers.

Afterward Bruce then returns to Gotham where he takes an interest in his family's company, Wayne enterprises, which is run by the corrupt William Earle (Rutger Hauer).  Bruce then sets about trying to find a way to bring Gotham to justice himself without killing and sets in motion how to prepare himself for combating the city's criminals.  And in doing so Bruce pays a visit to Wayne enterprises top scientist, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) who shows Bruce some of the company's technological prototypes such as a bodysuit and also the tumbler (essentially a large reinforced vehicle) which Bruce takes.  Bruce then uncovers the entrance to a cave under his well, where he faces his fear of bats, as they swarm around him and he later creates his workshop down in the cave and soon dawns the bodysuit and becomes "Batman".  

So, as Batman, Bruce intercepts a shipment of drugs and he captures Falcone and provides evidence to Rachel to indict Falcone.  Batman then receives help from Jim Gordon, who remains one of the few honest cops left in Gotham who later arrests Falcone.  Falcone and his men are deemed as mentally unfit to stand trial and Falcone is moved to Arkham asylum where his met by the corrupt Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) who has been using Falcone to import the drugs which can cause terrifying hallucinations.  Crane then puts on a mask and exposes Falcone to the toxins, which drives Falcone insane with fear which will keep him in Arkham.  

While investigating Crane, Batman is also exposed to the drug and he barely escapes and survives as he is later given an antidote by Lucius.  Rachel later on meets with Crane at Arkham where she finds the city's water supply has been laced with the hallucinogen compound and Crane exposes her to the drug as well.  Batman however soon manages to rescue Rachel and takes her back to the batcave where he administers the antidote to her.  Bruce then attends a party at his manor, where all of a sudden he comes to face with a familiar face, Ducard who reveals him to be the real Ra's al Ghul, who is intent on destroying Gotham and from here Bruce must find a way to stop him....

THOUGHTS 

Batman Begins remains an excellent reboot to the franchise of Batman and it saw the character get a much needed shot in the arm after the dreadful Batman & Robin, which ended the series previous reboot on a real low point.  

The film also get's back to the proper origins of the character and Christopher Nolan made the right decision to make Batman a more humane character, while retaining the brooding intensity of the dark knight, but Nolan concentrates on making him more a moral avenger and avoids going down the route of making Batman a killer.  And for me that is when the film really kicks into action during the scene where Bruce makes his choice to reject the League of shadows vision to destroy Gotham city as he realises he must save the city despite the corruption that plagues it as prior to that it is a bit of a slow burner.  And when Bruce arrives back in Gotham you know you are in for a bumpy ride as is the city itself as he prepares to take down the city's criminals before later on facing his biggest challenge in facing Ra's al Ghul once more.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES 

Getting onto the performances, the cast are all excellent with plenty of stars on display in main and supporting roles.  

Starting with Christian Bale who is great in his dual role as Bruce Wayne and Batman, although he fares best as Bruce more than as Batman, where he puts on a rather husky voice, but at this stage he doesn't overdo it like he does in the next two films! Bale himself apparently auditioned for the part wearing the Batman suit from Batman Forever, which starred Val Kilmer. Bale also had previously made the film, The Machinist, where he lost a significant amount of weight, and he literally put on a hundred pounds of muscle to play the part of the dark knight. However Nolan felt that Bale had overdone his weight gain and had him slim down about 40 pounds to fit into the bat suit. 

Bale has some good highlights in the film such as the scene near the beginning when Bruce is in the Buhatnese prison and he is getting beat up by a big inamte who says to him "I'm the devil!" and Bruce says "You're not the devil, you're practice!" and he proceeds to beat the big guy up and his men. So, as the prison guards come and separate them, the head guard says "Take into confinement!" and Bruce says "I don't need protection!" and the guard says "The protection is for THEM!".   

Another good scene is where Bruce pays a visit to Lucius Fox at Wayne enterprises he invents some excuses as to why he needs certain equipment but Fox sees through him. So, at first Bruce says to Fox of some equipment "I want to borrow it" and Fox asks "For what?" and Bruce awkwardly says "For spelunking, cave diving". So, as Bryce returns again, Fox asks "So, what will it be today? More spelunking?" and Bruce says "No, today is base jumping!". So, as Fox tells Bruce "Look, Mr Wayne, if you don't want to tell me what you want this for me, I don't need to lie but don't think of me as an idiot" and Bruce says "Fair enough" and he notices something in the back "What's that?" and Fox says "The tumbler? Oh, you wouldn't be interested in that". However, they go for a ride in the tumbler in a large hangar and Fox asks "So, what do you think?" and Bruce excited by it asks Fox "Does it come in black?".  

Then there is the scene where Batman makes his first entrance and as he beats up Falcone's men, he shortly after grabs Falcone and pulls out of the car as Falcone asks beforehand "what the hell are you?" Batman replies "I'm Batman!" and head butts Falcone, knocking him out, then he looks over at the tramp he saw earlier in the film, who Bruce gave his coat and Batman simply says "Nice coat!" before leaving.  

Another good scene is where Batman meets Rachel at the subway station and she fires her taser gun at his body armour, which has no effect and he casually removes it from his suit.  And Batman throws some evidence at Rachel's feet, who asks what it is and Batman says "Leverage, to get things moving" and Rachel asks who he is and Batman replies "Someone like you, someone who isn't afraid to rattle the cages!". 

Then there is the scene where Batman literally picks up the corrupt cop, Flass (Mark Boone Junior) by leg using his bat grapple and dangles him upside down.  And Batman yells at Flass "Where were the other drugs going?!" and Flass tells him he doesn't know "I swear!" and Batman yells "SWEAR TO ME!!" and let's him drop and dangle but lifting him up again on the grapple.  And Flass tells Batman of a location of a drop off point for the drugs "Cops can't go down to the narrows" and Batman says "Do I look like a cop????" before letting him go (or rather drop!).

Then there is the scene where Ducat shows up (SPOILER!!) and reveals his dual identity as the real Ra's al Ghul at Bruce's big party in his manor. So, Bruce does what he can to try and get them to leave to save them from Ducat by pretending to be drunk and insulting them. So, Bruce clinks his glass to get their attention and says "I wanna thank you all for coming here tonight and drinking all my booze!" and he smiles and continues "That's a thing about being a Wayne, there's never not enough freeloaders to turn up to your mansion, so here's to you people". So, with the people looking aghast, Bruce carries on mock insulting them "To all you phonies, all you two-faced friends, you sycophantic suck ups, who smile at me through their teeth, please leave me in peace. Please stop. Stop smiling. Its not a joke. The party's over. Get out!".

Then there is the scene where Batman rescues Rachel before confronting Ducat for the last time, and Rachel says before he goes "Wait! You could die, at least tell me your name" and Batman turns to her and in Bruce's voice tells her "Its not who I am underneath...but what I DO that defines me!". So, Rachel looks amazed realising who he is and says "Bruce??" and Batman dives off below. 

Last of all is the final scene where (SPOILER!!) Batman having saved the day from Ducat and his men, meets with Gordon up on the rooftops and we see they have a new Bat signal set up. So, Batman taps it and says "Nice!" and Gordon says to him "You like it? I couldn't find any mob bosses!". Gordon then tells Batman of a new case of a mysterious figure using a calling card with a Joker card on it and Batman says "I'll look into it". So, before Batman leaves, Gordon says to him "I never said thank you" and Batman before he goes says "And you'll never have to" and he dives off the roof to the end the film.    

Liam Neeson is also very good in his role as Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul who takes Bruce in to train him but ultimately can't convert him to the league of shadows of way thinking, and its not long before Ra's comes back to Gotham to finish off his business.  

Neeson plays the part in rather melodramatic fashion but he still has some good moments such as the scene where he tells Bruce where to go if he wants to be trained and Bruce climbs up a mountain and arrives at the temple of the league of shadows.  On entering Bruce is exhausted and Ra's starts to whip his ass, lecturing him he says "Death does not wait for you to be ready!" and as Bruce tries to defend himself Ra's effortlessly knocks him away saying "You are skilled but this isn't a dance!" and later "You are afraid, but not me of.  Tell me, Mr Wayne.  What do you fear?".  

And later as the two men practice combat on the ice, Neeson has a good moment where Ra's taunts Bruce by saying "You're parents death was not your fault.  It was your father's!" and Bruce attacks him angrily and says "But I had training!" and Ra's says "The training is nothing, the WILL IS EVERYTHING!!!".  And as Bruce knocks down Ra's on the ground, Bruce tells him to yield and Ra's says "You haven't beaten me. You've sacrificed sure footing for a killing stroke!" and he proceeds to tap his sword on the ice which causes Bruce to fall under.  

SPOILER WARNING AHEAD!!

Then there is the scene where Ducard (or Ra's) as he turns up at Wayne manor during a party held by Bruce with his men, intent on destroying Gotham. So, Ducard tells Bruce "Tomorrow the world will watch the world's greatest city tear itself apart from fear. The movement back to harmony will be unstoppable this time". So, as Bruce asks if Ducard attacked the city before, he tells him "Of course, over the years our weapons have grown more sophisticated, with Gotham we tried a new one, economics! And we are back to finish the job. Like your father, you lack the courage to do all is that is necessary. If someone stands in the way of true justice, you just walk up behind them and stab them in the heart!". So, as they fight briefly and Ducard's men set fire to the manor, Bruce is trapped under a collapsing beam and Ducard looks at him and says "Justice is balance, you burned my house and left me for dead! Consider us even!".   

Katie Holmes also does well in her role as Rachel Dawes, although she was only 26 or 27 at the time of filming, I don't quite buy that she is old enough to portray the part of an assistant DA.  

Holmes does have some good scenes though such as the one where Rachel picks up Bruce, not long after Chills has been murdered by Falcone's assassin and she tells him about how bad things are under Falcone's reign. 

So, she says "You care about justice? Look beyond your own pain, Bruce. This city is rotting. People talk about the depression as if its history, and it's not. Things are worse than ever down here. Falcone floods our streets with crime and drugs, preying on the desperate, creating new Joe Chills every day. Falcone not have killed your parents Bruce, but he's destroying everything they stood for" and she stops by a building and says "You wanna thank him for that, here you go". So, Bruce tells her of Chills "All these years, I wanted to kill him" and he shows her his gun "and now I can't" and after a pause, Rachel angrily slaps Bruce and says "Your father would have been ashamed of you!". 

Another good moment is where Rachel is accosted by two of Falcone's men on the subway, but one is subdued by Batman and the other looks on in panic and runs off, just when Rachel prodcues her taser, and she says "That's right you better run!" and she turns to see Batman and jumps, firing the taser, which has no effect on Batman's suit. 

Another good scene is where Rachel confronts Crane over Falcone's sudden breakdown in Arkham and she asks "Isn't it convenient for a 52 year old man who has no history of mental illness to suddenly have a complete psychotic breakdown, just when he is about to be indicted?!" and Crane says "As you can see there is nothing convenient about his symptoms".  

And also there is the moment where Rachel bumps into Bruce at a party, where he is starting pose as a billionaire playboy, and she says to him "Bruce, you may still be that great kid you use to be, but its not who you are underneath, its what you do that defines you" which is a line Batman later quotes back to her giving a hint to the fact that its Bruce who is the dark knight.

As for the other performances Michael Caine is very good as Alfred, Bruce's trusty butler, who helps out Bruce in starting his crusade as Batman.  Caine also has some highlights in the film, such as in the scene where he meets Bruce and they fly back to Gotham on a private jet. So, in the scene, Alfred asks Bruce about his plan to bring justice to Gotham and says "I assume as your taking on the underworld, this symbol is a persona to protect those you care about from reprisals" and Bruce says "You're thinking about Rachel?" and Alfred nervously says "Actually, sir, I was thinking about myself!". 

So, Alfred then goes on to say he had Bruce legally declared dead (well Earle did really), he says to Bruce "I couldn't think about the legal ramifications of bringing you back from the dead" and Bruce taken aback asks "You had me declared dead??" and Alfred says "Well, its Mr Earle actually, he's taking the company public". So, Alfred then says "Those company shares are worth quite a bit of money" and Bruce says "Well, its a good thing I left everything to you" and Alfred says "Quite so, sir! And you can borrow the Rolls, just bring it back with a full tank".  

Another good scene is when Alfred confronts Bruce about forgetting his family's legacy and Bruce say he doesn't care about his name and Alfred strongly says to him "Its not just your name, sir!  Its your father's name!  And its all that's left of him!  Don't destroy it".  And then there is the scene where Ra's Al Ghul arrives at Bruce's manor and his men set it on fire and leave Bruce for dead, and Alfred helps lift a large piece of wood that Bruce is trapped underneath and he exclaims "What is the point of all those push-ups if you can't even lift a bloody log?!".

Morgan Freeman is also excellent as Lucius Fox, who helps Bruce by using some of Wayne enterprise's prototype technology, such as the bodysuit for Batman and the tumbler, which Bruce uses for Batman's car.  Freeman also provides his character with a dry sense of humour as he exhibits throughout and is noted in the scenes where Bruce first approaches Lucius and uses excuses that he wants to use the equipment for base-jumping and spelunking.  

And as Lucius shows Bruce the memory cloth used to create his cape, Lucius says "I don't think they tried to market it to the billionaire, spelunking, BASE-jumping crowd!".   And then Lucius who is wary of Bruce's excuses says "Mister Wayne, if you don't want to tell me exactly what you're doing, when I'm asked, I don't have to lie.  But don't think of me as an idiot" and Bruce says "Fair enough".

Then there is the moment right after where Bruce looks at something off camera and says "What's that?" and Fox smiles and says "The tumbler? You wouldn't be interested in that". So, then it cuts to them taking the tumbler for a spin in a large hangar and Fox says "It was supposed to be built as a bridging vehicle, we never could get the damn bridge to work but this baby works just fine!". So, Bruce halts the tumbler looking excited and Fox asks "So, what do you think?" and with a smile Bruce asks "Does it come in black?".  

And last of all is the scene near the end (SPOILER!!) where Earle finds Fox in the boardroom handing out documents to the members. So, Earle speaks to Bruce on the phone to find out what is going on and Bruce says "Oh, I decided to buy out most of the company shares, so I'm now the majority shareholder" and he sarcastically throws Earle's earlier words back at him saying "Its a little complicated but Wayne enterprises is in safe hands". Bruce then says "Is that right, Mr Fox?" and Fox smugly says "That's right, Mr Wayne" and he looks at Earle and with relish says "Didn't you get the memo??" and Earle gives a weary smile.  

Rutger Hauer is also good in his brief role as Earle, who has been running Wayne enterprises in Bruce's absence and he has a good moment where he visits Lucius and says to him "I'm merging your department with archives, and I am firing you.  Didn't you get the memo?".  

And later on rather amusingly, Bruce buys back control of his shares in the company and puts Fox in charge of operations. So, Earle in the scene enters the boardroom to see Fox handing out papers to the members and he says "Didn't I fire you?" and Fox says "Yes but then I get offered another job...yours!". Earle then speaks to Bruce on the phone, who tells him that he bought the majority of the company shares leaving Earle out of the loop and Lucius says smugly to Earle "Didn't you get the memo?". 

Cillian Murphy proves to be quite effective and creepy in his role as Dr Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow and he has some good moments as well.

So Murphy's notable scenes include the film's most frightening moment where Crane says to Falcone in Arkham "Would you like to see my mask?" and he takes out his fabric mask and his briefcase "I'm probably not so scary to a guy like you, but these crazies, they can't stand it!".  And Crane proceeds to open his case and detonate a charge of the weaponised hallucinogen which freaks out Falcone and Crane's visage distort as the gas spreads and voice changes and he says "They scream and they cry.  Much as you are doing now!".  And just after Crane leaves the room and he says to one of the staff "No he's not faking, not that one! Get him transferred to my practice, I can't treat him here". 

And then there is the scene where Batman arrives at the narrows and hides as Crane and his men arrive, and as Batman attacks his men, Crane fires the toxin in Batman's face and he says as he throws alcohol in face "Here take a drink, you look like a man who takes himself too seriously!  You want my opnion?  You need to lighten up!" and he lights a match and sets fire to Batman's suit, who dives out the window. 

Then there is the scene where Crane is confronted by Batman after he gives a potential lethal dose of his hallucinogen to Rachel. So, in the scene Crane and his men hear Batman move around and his men ask "What should we do?" and Crane says "What else should we do with a man that prowls around at night? Call the cops!". Batman soon disables Crane's men and grab a vial of his fear toxin and uses it on Crane and says "Taste of your own medicine, doctor?!" and the toxin causes Crane to see Batman as a demonic figure. So, Batman asks "Who are you working for??!" and Crane with a look of terror says "Ra's al Ghul!" and Batman says "Ra's al Ghul is dead! Who are you working for???!" and Crane then says "Doctor Crane isn't here right now but if you like to leave him a message, someone will get back to you!" and Batman knocks him out. 

Tom Wilkington is also very good as the mob boss, Falcone and he has some good scenes also that include where Falcone meets with Bruce in his nightclub and he tells him "Look around you, kid, you'll see two councilmen, a union official, a couple off-duty cops and a judge.  Now I wouldn't have a second's hesitation of blowing your head off right here and now in front of them.  Now, that's power you can't buy!  That's the power of fear". So, Falcone tells his men to throw Bruce out and before they do, Falcone tells Bruce "You've got guts, kid, more than your old man had. Chill said when he died, he begged, begged like a dog!". 

And then there is the scene when Crane meets Falcone in Arkham after he is captured by Batman and he apparently cut his wrists to get the insanity plea.

So, as Crane enters the room, Falcone mockingly says "Yeah, Doctor Crane, I can't take it anymore, the walls are closing in, blah blah blah! Couple more days of this food and it will be true!". Crane then asks "What do you want?" and Falcone says "I wanna know how you're gonna convince me to keep my mouth shut" and Crane says "About what? You don't know anything". Falcone however then says "Now I've been bringing your stuff in for months and whatever your boss is got planned, I know its big, so I want in" but Crane says "Well, I already know what he'll say, that we should kill you" and Falcone laughs and says "No, he can't get to me, not even in my own town". Crane sighs and takes off his glasses and asks "Do you want to see my mask? I use it in my experiments" and he opens his briefcase and he takes out his mask and says "Now, I'm probably not very scary to a guy like you but these crazies, they can't stand it". So, Falcone asks "So, when did the nut take over the nuthouse??" and Crane activates a trigger than sprays fear gas in Falcone's face and he screams in terror, as Crane rises with his mask on, which causes the fear toxin to distort his face and he says in a distorted voice "They scream and they cry, much like you're doing right now!".

Last of all is Gary Oldman, who is excellent as Sgt Jim Gordon, one of the few honest cops left in Gotham, who ends up helping Batman.  

Oldman's highlights include his first scene where Gordon sits in his car along with the corrupt cop, Flass, who says to Gordon he should take the corrupt money "Maybe one day you'll wise up" and Gordon says "There's nothing wise about what you do, Flass" and he then says "In a town that's bent, who is there is to rat to anyway??" and Flass laughs.  

Then there is the scene where Batman talks quietly with Gordon on his rooftop and Gordon tells him that the commissioner think that he is a menace. So, Gordon says "The commissioner is setting up a taskforce to find you, he thinks you're dangerous" and Batman asks "What do you think?" and Gordon says "I think you're trying to help" and turns back to see Batman has gone and he says "But I've been wrong before".  

And then at the end there is a funny moment where Gordon has setup a bat signal, which Batman taps and says "Nice!" and Gordon "You like it?  I couldn't find any mob bosses!". Batman then says "Well, Sergeant" and Gordon says "Oh, its Lieutenant now. You've really started something. Bent cops running scared, hope on the streets" and Batman says "But?" and Gordon says "We still haven't picked up Crane or or half the inmates that he freed" and Batman says "We CAN bring Gotham back". Gordon then pulls out a file and says "Take a look at this guy, armed robbery, double homicide, a taste for the theatrical like you, he leaves a calling card". So, Batman looks at the card, which is a Joker card and he says "I'll look into it" and he steps to the edge of the rooftop and Gordon says "I never said thank you" and Batman looks back and says "And you'll never have to" and he dives off to end the film. 

DIRECTOR 

Now finally onto the director, Christopher Nolan who has done a great job here with the film and he keeps the atmosphere intense and broody throughout, but also allows for a few moments of levity as well in the film and provides the film with just enough hope and humanity from keeping it permanently in the dark and never forgets it is supposed to be a superhero film.  Nolan also confidently handles the film's impressive action scenes and uses its different locations very well also as it was filmed mostly in Shepperton studios in England, but also there were some location filming in Iceland, during Bruce's training, as well as Chicago during the scenes where Batman is chased by the police.  

MUSIC  

The film's music score is also excellent by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, which is very intense and atmospheric is well suited to the tone of the film. Zimmer was initially asked by Nolan to score the film alone but Zimmer was keen to do a collaboration with Howard and together they composed the score over a 3 month period. There are plenty of dark passages and the main theme is also pretty good although is there one criticism of the score it can be a bit too boomy and overbearing in its volume but overall its solid enough. 

FLAWS 

As for the flaws.........well Batman Begins does have some niggles worth a mention.

Starting with the pacing of the film, which is a bit inconsistent and it has to be said that Bruce's journey in Bhutan and his training drags on a bit and it takes until Bruce sets the fire to the League of shadows temple for the film's tempo to kick a bit more into gear.  

I also felt that Bruce's father, Thomas, was unjustly branded a coward in the film, when during the scene where he is killed, he calmly tries to reason with Chills before being shot, which hardly shows the actions of a coward.  And Ra's blames Bruce's parent's death on his father, when his father actually tried to do what he could and keep a cool head, but the film certainly doesn't seem to take that into consideration and even in Chills's mind, he felt that Bruce's dad begged for mercy, which going by the scene is crap, but then again its not like a criminal would ever lie!   

Then there is Bale's portrayal of Batman, which is far from bad, but he does start to use that husky voice thing here, which can be grating, but it is nowhere near as bad here as it is the following two films.  But I just think why is it necessary for Bruce to husk his voice to that extent, when all its liable to do is make him cough and splutter!  And Michael Keaton managed to hush his voice well enough as Batman without making it sound ridiculous so its a bit crap that Bale wasn't able to do the same thing with his performance.  

You could also argue in a way that Nolan's attempts at humour in the film are at times also a tad lame, although there are some good lines and Caine and Freeman both provide the film with some dry moments of wit, but there are some naff ones as well such as the scene where Gordon first sees Batman's tumbler and he gasps "I've got to get me one of those!".  I think its right though that Nolan does have some moments of levity in the film because it would be even more dreary without them, and I guess it is less guilty of cheesy humour than some of the superhero films out there.  

I also found it a bit bizarre how Crane was able to recover from his own fear toxin so quickly after Batman sprayed him with some but he is released by Ra's men although maybe his exposure to using it so much on inmates even using a mask made him a bit more resistant to its effects after a while. However later on, Rachel uses her taser and shoots him in the face with it, now surely that would have caused him severe facial nerve damage of sorts even with his mask on. But again it is a Hollywood film, so no realism applies here really.  

And lastly another flaw well worth mentioning is the scene where Ra's Al Ghul turns up at Bruce Wayne's mansion near the end and he has his men set fire to the place and Ra's struggles with Bruce and leaves him trapped under a falling roof beam.  And in the scene Ra's says to Bruce "You burned down my house and left me for dead.  Consider us even!" which when you think about it, it is not even remotely close in their case whereas Bruce did burn down Ra's house, he didn't leave him for dead and instead dragged him out the burning house and saved him from falling off a snowy cliff and then him took to a villager so he could recover!  So obviously Ra's has a pretty warped sense of justice and let's face it the guy does anyway as how exactly is destroying one corrupt city which albeit has plenty of criminals in it but also plenty of innocent people, justice???  In short, Ra's Al Ghul is an ungrateful knob to put it mildly!       
     
So, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, in summing it all up, Batman Begins is an excellent start to the Nolan trilogy and it successfully rebooted the franchise giving it a more grounded and gritty feel again after the stupidly camp Batman and Robin movie some 8 years earlier. The film also features a solid cast with Christian Bale really good in his dual role of Bruce Wayne and Batman even if he does his husky voice, its not overkill here unlike the sequels. The supporting cast are also really good with Liam Neeson in the main villain role as Ducard (aka Ra's) as well as Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Katie Holmes although she is a bit young for her role. Nolan does a great job also with the film's action scenes even if they do feel a bit messy and chaotic in terms of their camera work but he brings the right intensity to the film itself. 

So, with that said, Batman Begins is definitely one of the best films in the trilogy and is well worth a look or revisit. So, with that I will rate it:

9 out of 10

So, that's all for now and I'll be back again next month.

Until then, bye for now!  

 

A Few Good Men Review (Revisited Part 2!) "I want the TRUTH!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, time for a revisited post once again and yes it is a bit lazy (sorry!) but I quite liked the idea of having another look at a classic legal thriller, A Few Good Men starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson and expanding on albeit already very expanded review! However, there are a few things I'd like to add in all the same.

So, with that said, let's take yet another look at this classic after 34 years on from its release... 

And the usual warning is coming up....

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!! 

STORY  

So the film begins at Guantanamo bay naval base in Cuba, with two young marines, Lance Corporal Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) and Private Downey (James Marshall) entering the room of Private Santiago (Michael DeLarenzo) where they proceed to tie him up and stuff a rag down his throat as a hazing attack, however as a result of the attack, Santiago dies and Dawson and Downey are arrested.

Shortly after Dawson and Downey's arrest, naval investigator and lawyer, Lieutenant Commander Jo Galloway (Demi Moore) believes the two marines did not murder Santiago and they were in fact acting on order known as a "code red" which is a form of disciplinary military punishment.  Galloway requests that she defend the two marines however her request is denied and instead the case is assigned to Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, an inexperienced, cocky lawyer in the US Navy but who has a strong track record for plea bargaining.  Kaffee and Galloway at first however don't get along as Galloway resents Kaffee's carefree attitude as he clearly doesn't want to take on the demands of the case whereas Kaffee resents Galloway's overzealous attitude.

However despite their differences, they travel to Cuba along with Kaffee's fellow lawyer, Lt Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak) where they meet with the commanding officer, Colonel Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson) who neither confirms or denies the practice of code reds on the base, and after a brief investigation of the base, the three of them fly back to the States. 

However on their return to the States, Jessep's executive officer, Lt Colonel Markinson (J.T. Walsh) goes AWOL, and Galloway grows more convinced that the order was a code red.  Kaffee and Galloway go and question Dawson and Downey who tell him that they were given an order to perform a code red on Santiago by their commanding officer, Lieutenant Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland).

Kaffee then approaches the prosecution lawyer Captain Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon) and tells him the marines were given an order and he works out a plea bargain with him, where he will offer the marines involuntary manslaughter for which they would receive a reduced sentence of six months.  Kaffee takes the offer to Dawson who turns it down as he refuses to admit he did anything wrong other than follow his duty and will not dishonour himself or his corps.

As a result of this, Kaffee verges on quitting the case after having a row with Galloway, who insists they go to court and put the marines on trial, but Kaffee soon decides to take on the case.  And from here this is where Kaffe, Galloway and Weinberg plan their case to try and save their two clients from serving a life long prison sentence.....

THOUGHTS 

As far as courtroom dramas go, "A Few Good Men" definitely is one of the most entertaining and gripping ones of its time and it has aged very well 34 years on from its release.  The story itself was actually based on a phone call the writer Aaron Sorkin had with his sister, who worked as a lawyer in the US Navy Corps for three years, where she defended marines who were accused of murder after a direct order from their commanding officer to carry out a hazing disciplinary action on a fellow marine.  Sorkin would then go on to write his script for the stage where it was a success on Broadway on its initial run in 1989.

And it has to be said that Sorkin's screenplay is wonderfully written and richly worded and the characters are all really well drawn out, and it also lead toward a fruitful career as a screenwriter for TV and film, as Sorkin went on to write "The West Wing" for TV, as well as films such as "The American President", "The Social Network" and "Steve Jobs".

PERFORMANCES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and strong language!)   

As for the performances well they are excellent as the film features a great cast.

Starting with Tom Cruise, who despite his tendency to play annoyingly cocky characters (and yep Daniel Kaffee here is no exception here!) still provides a really good performance as Daniel Kaffee, the inexperienced and yes, cocky naval lawyer, who would rather take the easy way out of the case rather than go to trial.  However as the film progresses, Kaffee's character begins mature and grow and he takes on his responsibilities rather than run away from them.

And Cruise certainly has plenty of good scenes in the film such as the one where he is met by an angry naval officer, Spradling, as the two of them argue over a pending case of a young naval employee who supposedly smoked marijuana but it turned our to be oregano.  So, in the scene Spradling angrily says to Kaffee "We were supposed to meet 15 minutes ago. You're stalling on the McDermott case. We either get it done now, or I'll hang him from a f****** yardarm!".  And Kaffee, surprised asks the person he is practising soft ball with, Sherby "Do we still hang people from yardarms" and Sherby replies "Don't think so" and Kaffee says to Spradling "Sherby doesn't think we still hang people from yardarms anymore".

So, Kaffee tells Spradling "I'll file a motion seeking to obtain an evidentiary ruling in advance... ...then I'll file against pre-trial confinement. You'll get three months' paperwork... ...because a signalman bought and smoked a dime bag of oregano!".  And as the two of them continue to haggle over a resolution to the case and Spradling eventually gives and says "I don't why I'm agreeing to this!" and Kaffee grins and says "Because you have wisdom beyond your years!".

Then there is the scene where Kaffee confronts Dawson and Downey, who are being detained while Kaffee and Galloway do their investigation and in the scene Kaffee asks Dawson if their superior officer, Lt Kendrick ordered them to give Santiago a code red.  So, Kaffee walks in angrily and asks Dawson "Did Kendrick order the code red?" and Dawson asks "Sir?" and Kaffee about to lose his temper says "Don't say sir like I just asked you if you cleaned the latrine. You heard what I said. Did Lt. Kendrick order you guys to give Santiago a code red?!".  And Dawson says "Yes, sir" and Kaffee asks Downey, who also says "Yes, sir".

So, Kaffee, exasperated asks "You mind telling my why the hell you never mentioned this before?!" and Dawson says "You didn't ask us, sir" which pisses off Kaffee more who says "Answering my questions, isn't going to win you a place in my heart.  I get paid no matter how much time you spend in jail!".  And Dawson angrily says "Yes, sir, I know you do, sir!" which prompts Kaffee to yell "F*** YOU, HAROLD!!".

Then there is the scene where Kaffee offers Dawson and Downey, Ross's plea bargain deal to serve a 6 month sentence for involuntary manslaughter, however Dawson refuses to go for it.  So in the scene Kaffee tells them "All right, here's the story. The government's offering involuntary manslaughter. Two years. You'll be home in six months".  This prompts a look of surprise from Dawson and Downey but little more than that and Kaffee says "Wow! You're the greatest lawyer in the world! How can we thank you? Fellas, you hear what I just said?! You'll be home in six months!!".  However, Dawson says to Kaffee "I'm afraid we can't do that, sir" and Kaffee asks "Do what?" and Dawson says "Make a deal, sir."  And Kaffee bemused asks "What are you talking about?" "We did nothing wrong. We did our job. If that has consequences, I'll accept them. But I won't say that I'm guilty, sir".

So, Kaffee becomes angry and points accusingly at Jo and says to Dawson "Did she put you up to this???!" and Jo says "No".  And Dawson says "We have a code, sir!" which angers Kaffee "You and your code plead not guilty. You'll be in jail for life. Do what I say, and you'll be home in six months. Do it, Harold. Six months, it's nothing. It's a hockey season!".  But then Dawson lays it on the line as he tells Kaffee that he believes he was right and will not dishonour himself or the corps, so he can go home in just six months.  So, Kaffee requests to talk to Dawson alone, so the others leave and Kaffee says to Dawson "You know, Downey worships you. He's gonna do whatever you do. Are you really gonna let this happen to him because of a code, Harold?".  And Dawson looks at Kaffee and asks "Do you think we were right?" and Kaffee says "It doesn't matter..." but Dawson angrily asks again "DO YOU THINK WE WERE RIGHT??!" and Kaffee says "I think you'd lose!".  And Dawson looks at him in disgust and says "You are such a coward!  I can't believe they let you wear a uniform!".

Then there is the scene right after where Kaffee argues with Galloway as he is ready to walk away from the case.  And Kaffee says in disbelief "I don't believe it!  Dawson wants to go to jail, just to spite me! If he wants to jump off a cliff...fine!  I'm not gonna hold his hand on the way down!".  Then Galloway argues with Kaffee and tells him "I want them to be judged, I want you to stand up and make an argument!" and "Why are you so afraid to be a lawyer?!  Were Daddy's expectations that high?!".  And Kaffee sighs and says "Oh, spare me the psychobabble father bullshit!  Dawson and Downey will have their day in court but they'll just have it with another lawyer!".  And as Galloway insists that they need him as he know how to win and if he walks away he will seal their fate, Kaffee tells Galloway "Their fate was sealed the moment Santiago died!".  And as Galloway asks "Do you believe they have a case?" and Kaffee angrily says "You and Dawson, you both live in the same dream world. It doesn't matter what I believe, it only matters what I can prove. So don't tell me what I know and don't know. I KNOW THE LAW!!". 

And to save a lot of time in typing more paragraphs for Cruise, I will just skip to the scene where Kaffee questions Colonel Jessep in court and he finally get's to the point where he asks him if he ordered the code red.  But before that there is the funny moment where Kaffee asks Jessep a number of questions about his personal items and telephone calls he made as he made his trip to Washington.  And Jessep tells Kaffee "I wore utilities on the plane" rather than his uniform and Kaffee asks "Toothbrush, shaving kit, underwear?".  And this provokes Ross to shout "Object!" and Kaffee asks "Is the general's underwear a matter of national security?!".  

So, in the scene Kaffee says to Jessep "If Lt. Kendrick gave an order that Santiago wasn't to be touched... why did he have to be transferred? Colonel? Kendrick ordered a Code Red because THAT'S what you told him to do!".  And then Kaffee begins to bellow at Jessep and shouts "AND WHEN IT WENT BAD, YOU CUT THESE GUYS LOOSE!! You signed a phony transfer order!  You doctored the logbook!  You coerced the Doctor!  Now I'm asking you!  COLONEL Jessep DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED???!!".

And as the Judge says "Colonel, you have to answer that question!" Jessep refuses to back down and says angrily "I'LL answer the question!" and he looks at Kaffee and says "You want answers?!" and Kaffe says "I think I'm entitled!".  And Jessep again asks "You want ANSWERS?!!" and Kaffee yells back "I WANT THE TRUTH!!!" and Jessep shouts that great line "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!".

And Jessep (SPOILER!!!) finally admits that he ordered the code red as Kaffee yells at him "DID YOU ORDERED THE CODE RED???!" and Jessep yells back "YOU'RE GODDAM RIGHT I DID!!".  Then Kaffee recommends they go to "an immediate 39a article session" as the court members and the jury leave the room, Jessep is placed under arrest and he lunges at Kaffee but is restrained.  And Jessep then says to him "All you did was weaken a country today, Kaffee! That's all you did. You put peoples' lives in danger. Sweet dreams, son!" and Kaffee says "Don't call me, son.  I'm a lawyer and an officer in the United States Navy.  And you're under arrest, you son of a bitch!".

And lastly there is the scene at the end where Ross, the prosecution for the case, asks Kaffee "Airmen O'Malley and Rodriguez.  What exactly were they going to testify to?" and Kaffee tells him "They were going to testify that they had no recollection of absolutely anything".  And Ross responds sarcastically "Strong witnesses" and Kaffee says "And handsome too, don't you think?" and they both laugh.

Demi Moore who it has to be said was a rather unlikely choice for such a role here, is actually pretty good as Lt Commander Joanne Galloway, the overzealous naval investigator who works on the case with Kaffee.

And Moore has quite a few good scenes of her own also such as the one where she talks to Captain West (John M. Jackson) in his office at JAG (Judge Advocate General) corps about the Dawson and Downey case.

And in the scene Jo tries her best to make a strong impression and also put herself forward to defend Dawson and Downey however when she makes the recommendation she bungles it nervously.  And Jo says to Captain West "Sir, I'd like to have them moved up to Washington and assigned counsel. Someone who can really look into this. Someone who possesses not only the legal skill...but a familiarity with the workings of the military.  In short, I'd like to suggest that I be the one who that-- That it be me who is assigned to represent them, myself!".  And Captain West says to her "Commander, why don't you go and get yourself a cup of coffee" and Galloway politely says "No, thank sir, I'm fine" and West says to her bluntly "Commander, I'd like you to leave the room so we can talk about you behind your back!" and Galloway smiles awkwardly saying "Certainly sir!".

Then there is of course Moore's most notable scene where confronts Kaffee for his lack of commitment over the case and tells Kaffee that she knows exactly who he is and his background.  So, she says to Kaffee "Daniel Alistair Kaffee, born June 8th, 1964...at Boston Mercy Hospital. Your father's Lionel Kaffee, former Attorney General of the U.S...died 1985. You went to Harvard Law, then joined the Navy...probably because that's what your father wanted. Now you're just treading water for the three years in the JAG corps...just laying low till you can get out and get a real job. If that's the situation, that's fine, I won't tell anyone".  However Jo then get's angry and warns him "But if this case is handled in the same Persian fast-food, slick-assed manner...with which you handle everything else...then something's gonna get missed! And I wouldn't be doing my job if I let Dawson and Downey to sit in prison, because their attorney predetermined the path of least resistance!".  And Kaffee simply stares at her and says "Wow!  I'm sexually aroused commander!".

Another good scene from Moore is when Galloway confronts Kaffee over his decision to quit the case and get another lawyer for Dawson and Downey.  And as Kaffee is about to leave, Galloway says to him "One thing, though. When you ask the judge, be sure and ask nicely" and Kaffee turns around and says "What do you want from me??" and she says "I want you to let them be judged. I want you to stand up and make an argument!".  And Sam sarcastically says to her "An argument that didn't help Calley at My Lai, an argument that didn't work for the Nazis at Nuremberg!".  However then Kaffee turns around and gives an angry response "For Christ's sake, Sam!  Do you think that's the same as two teenage marines executing an order they didn't think would result in harm? These guys aren't Nazis!" and Galloway says "Don't look now, Danny, but you're making an argument".

However as Kaffee is about to leave again and says that Dawson and Downey will have their day in court with another lawyer, Galloway says "Another lawyer isn't good enough! They need you! You know how to win!  You know they have a case, and if you walk away from them now you've sealed their fate!".  And as Kaffee angrily tells her not to tell him what he knows or not because "I KNOW THE LAW!" Galloway says to him "You know nothing about the law! You're a used-car salesman! An ambulance-chaser with a rank! You're nothing. Live with that" and she leaves instead.

And last of all is the scene where after their case hits a bad setback later on the film, Kaffee returns home drunk as he tells them about (SPOILER!!) Markinson (Jessep's executive officer at Gunatanamo bay, who was set to testify) having shot himself.  So, in the scene Galloway tells Kaffee that they still have a chance to win the case if they subpoena Jessep much to Kaffee's annoyance.

So, Jo (I'll call her Jo from now on!) in the scene says to Kaffee "In the morning we'll ask Randolph for a continuance for 24 hours" and Kaffee asks "Why would we do that?" and Jo says "To subpoena Colonel Jessep".  And Kaffee refuses to listen to Jo's reasoning and he says "No, I won't listen, Jo.  Your passion is compelling but useless.  Lowden Downey needed a TRIAL lawyer today!" (meaning she messed up being Downey's attorney) and she says to him "You chickenshit!  You're gonna use this as an excuse to give up?" and Kaffee says to her with a sense of finality "Its over!".

However Jo refuses to give in and she asks Kaffee "Why did you ask Jessep for the transfer order in Cuba?" and Kaffee annoyed answers "I wanted the damn transfer order!".  Jo, however spits back at him "Bullshit!  You could have gotten it by calling any one of a dozen departments. You didn't want the order. You wanted to see Jessep's reaction when you asked for the transfer order! You had an instinct and it was confirmed by Markinson! Now, damn it, let's put Jessep on the stand and end this thing!".  But as Kaffee goes into a big long rant and ends it like a game show host yelling at Jo "SHOULD OR SHOULD WE NOT FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF THE GALACTICALLY STUPID????!!" he then angrily knocks some papers and books off a table.  And Jo, shocked, takes a moment and then puts her coat and as she is about leave she says to Kaffee "I'm sorry I lost you your set of steak knives!" and she leaves (referring to a scene earlier where Kaffee said he will get a set of steak knives if he wins one more case). 
 
Jack Nicholson next up is terrific in his role as Colonel Nathan Jessep, the intimidating Guantanamo bay Naval base officer, who is the superior officer at the base where Santiago died. Nicholson's screen time was only 15 minutes or so here and he is only in four scenes but his presence is unquestionably here and he chews whatever scenes he is given impeccably. 

Nicholson also has his share of great moments in the film such as the scene where we first see Jessep, reading Santiago's letter and he puts it down and introduces himself saying "Who the f*** is PFC William T. Santiago?!".  And then after Lt Kendrick tells Jessep who Santiago is, Jessep says "Well, apparently he's not very happy down here at Shangri-la because he's written everybody but Santa Claus, asking for a transfer. Now he's telling tales about a fenceline shooting!".  And Jessep looks to Markinson and says "Matthew?" and Markinson offers "I'm appalled, sir" and Jessep now annoyed says "You're appalled!  This kid broke the chain of command and ratted on a member of his unit to say nothing of the fact that he's a U.S. Marine and it would appear he can't run from here to there without collapsing from heat exhaustion!".

And towards the end of the scene, Jessep decides to have a quiet word with Markinson when Markinson disagrees with Jessep's decision to keep Santiago on the base and be trained rather than transferred.  So, in the scene Jessep bluntly tells Markinson "We go back a while. We went to the Academy together...were commissioned together, did our tours in Vietnam together. But I've been promoted with greater speed and success than you. Now, if that's a source of tension or embarrassment for you...I don't give a shit. We're in the business of saving lives, Lieutenant Colonel Markinson. Don't ever question my orders in front of another officer!" and he walks out leaving a frustrated Markinson alone.

Then of course there is the great scene where Kaffe, Jo and Sam go to Cuba and meet with Jessep at the base and they have lunch together where Jo asks Jessep a sensitive about code reds and whether they still happen on the base.  And in the scene Jessep says to Kaffee "You know, it just hit me.  She outranks you, Danny. I want to tell you something. And listen up, because I mean this. You're the luckiest man in the world. There is nothing on this earth sexier--believe me, gentlemen, than a woman you have to salute in the morning. Promote them all, I say, because this is true. If you haven't gotten any from a superior officer, well...you're just letting the best in life pass you by!".

And just before they go, Kaffee asks Jessep for a copy of Santiago's transfer order for his paperwork in a rather abrupt manner and Jessep somewhat takes offence.  But in the scene just as Kaffee is about to leave, Jessep says "But you have to ask me nicely!" and Kaffee is somewhat taken aback and asks "I beg your pardon?".  So, Jessep says firmly "You have to ask me nicely!  See, Danny, I can deal with the bullets, the bombs and the blood. I don't want money and I don't want medals. What I DO want is for you to stand there...in that faggoty white uniform... ...and with your Harvard mouth, extend me some f***ing courtesy!! You got to ask me nicely!".  And as Kaffee takes a moment and asks in more polite tone "Colonel Jessep, if its not too much trouble I'd like a copy of the transfer order, sir" and Jessep takes a moment and then says "No problem".

And last of all is the lengthy courtroom scene where Kaffee questions Jessep about the circumstances surrounding Santiago's death and it leads into him asking Jessep if he was the one that ordered the code red on Santiago.

So, in the scene Kaffee builds up to the moment and he yells at Jessep "DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED?!" and as the Judge tells him he doesn't need to answer that, Jessep furiously says "I'll answer the question!".  So, Jessep glares angrily at Kaffee and asks "You want answers?!" and Kaffee says "I think I'm entitled!" and Jessep again asks "YOU WANT ANSWERS??!" and Kaffee yells "I WANT THE TRUTH!" and Jessep yells back "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!".

So, Jessep launches into his lengthy vitriolic speech which he spits at Kaffee "Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded. Who's gonna do it?! You?! You, Lieutenant Weinberg?!! I have a greater responsibility than you can possible fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. The luxury of not knowing what I know: That Santiago's death, while tragic,  probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives!".

And Jessep continues "I have neither the time nor inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the freedom I provide then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a DAMN what you think you are entitled to!".  And Kaffee continues to pressure Jessep "Did you order the code red?" and Jessep says "I did the job..." and Kaffee goes in for the kill "DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED???!!" and Jessep not holding back, yells "YOU'RE GODDAMN RIGHT I DID!!!".

And as Jessep tries to leave, he is arrested by MP's and as Ross reads Jessep his rights, Jessep angrily says "What the hell is this?!  I'm being charged with a crime?!  IS THAT WHAT THIS IS?!  I'm being charged with a CRIME?!  That's funny, that's what this is!".  And Jessep suddenly lunges at Kaffee but he is restrained by the MP's and he yells at Kaffee "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!! YOU MESSED WITH THE WRONG MARINE!!".  Jessep soon calms himself down a little and he looks around the room in disgust and says "You f****** people!  You have no idea how to defend a nation!" and he glares at Kaffee and says "All you did was weaken a country today, Kaffee, that's all you did!  You put peoples lives in danger. Sweet dreams, son!".  

Kevin Bacon next is excellent as Captain Jack Ross, the prosecution lawyer for Dawson and Downey's trial and Kev has some great moments himself in the part as he was just starting to establish himself as a more serious actor at this stage in his career after appearing earlier films such as "Footloose". He also sports an notable flat top hairdo, which is supposed to be a bit inconsistent to how marines actually have their hair done. 

And some of Bacon's best scenes include the one where Ross addresses the jury for the first time as he makes his opening statement.  And Ross in the scene tells the jury members of Kaffee "Now, Lieutenant Kaffee is gonna try and pull off a little magic act here. He'll try a little misdirection. He'll astonish you with stories of rituals. Dazzle you with official-sounding terms like Code Red. He might even try to cut into a few officers for you. He'll have no evidence, none, but it'll be entertaining. But in the end... ...all the magic in the world will not divert your attention from the fact... ...that Willy Santiago is dead, and Dawson and Downey killed him.  These are the facts of the case and they are undisputed".

Then there is the scene where Kaffee meets with Ross and tells him that he has Markinson and he will testify against Jessep and Kendrick but Ross warns him of the dangers of making unwarranted accusations against both men.

So, Ross says to Kaffee "If you accuse Kendrick or Jessep of any crime without evidence, you'll be court-martialled for misconduct and that's gonna be stapled to every job application you ever fill out!".  And Kaffee says to Ross "I think the whole f***ing bunch of you are certifiably insane and this code of honour makes me wanna beat the shit out of somone!".  And Ross fires back "Don't you dare lump me in with Kendrick and Jessep just because I wear the same unifrom. I'm your friend. I don't think your clients don't belong in jail, but I don't get to make that decision! I represent the U.S. government without passion or prejudice and my client has a case!".

So, Ross stands up to leave the bar and before he does he says to Kaffee "You got bullied into that courtroom. By everyone. By Dawson. By Galloway. Shit, I practically dared you. You got bullied into that courtroom by the memory of a dead lawyer".  And just before Ross leaves, a furious Kaffee stands up and yells at Ross "YOU'RE A LOUSY F****** SOFTBALL PLAYER, JACK!!" and Ross turns to him and says "Your boys are going down, Danny.  I can't stop it anymore".

Kevin Pollak is also great in his role as Lt Sam Weinberg, Danny's fellow lawyer and good friend, who enjoys a bit of banter with Danny while he also plays his part in preparing their case.

And Pollak's good scenes include the one where Sam is out pushing his baby's pram as he walks with Kaffee.  And Sam says to Kaffee of his baby daughter "You heard her.  She said her first word.  Pa" while pointing and Kaffee says "She was pointing at a mailbox, Sam!" and Sam replies "That's right, as if to say "Pa, lookl!  A mailbox!".  And just before they part company, Sam refers to their trip to Cuba and that they should wear white uniforms because its very warm down there.  Sam then asks Kaffee "You got dramamine?" and Kaffee asks "Does Dramamine keep you cool?" and Sam says "No, it keeps you from throwing up, you get sick when you fly" and Kaffee tells him "I get sick when I fly because I'm afraid of crashing into a big mountain!".  And Sam then offers "I got some oregano.  I hear that works pretty good" and this refers to Kaffee's prior case regarding an Navy employee smoking a dimebag of oregano, so Kaffee laughs.

Another good scene from Pollak comes just after Kaffee questions the Guantanamo bay naval base doctor (Christopher Guest) in court and Jo embarrasses herself in front of the judge as she asks that the doctor's testimony be stricken from the record and "strenuously objects" to her comments being overruled.  So, after the court clears, Sam, clearly annoyed with Jo says "I strenuously object? Is that how it works? Objection. Overruled! No, I strenuously object! -Oh, then I'll take some time to reconsider!".  And Jo says "I got it on the record" and Sam angrily says "You got the court thinking we're afraid of the doctor. You object once, so we can say he's not a criminologist. You keep after it, our cross looks like a bunch of fancy lawyer tricks. It's the difference between paper law and TRIAL law!  Christ, even the judge said he was an expert!".

And just before Sam leaves the courtroom, Jo asks him re: Dawson and Downey "Why do you hate them so much?".  Sam then turns around and angrily says to her "They beat up on a weakling. The rest is this just smoke-filled-coffeehouse crap. They tortured and tormented a weaker kid! They didn't like him, so they killed him. Why? Because he couldn't run very fast!".  And then Sam asks Jo just before she goes "Why do you like them so much?" and Jo turns to him and says "Cos they stand on a wall and they say "Nothing's gonna hurt you tonight.  Not on my watch!" and Sam says to her "Forget about the Doctor, this trial starts Monday".

They beat up on a weakling.
The rest is this just
smoke-filled-coffeehouse crap.
They tortured and tormented
a weaker kid!
They didn't like him, so they killed him.
Why?
Because he couldn't run very fast!

Then there is the scene where Kaffee has his big row with Jo after Markinson had shot himself, with their case seemingly in tatters, Jo suggests they put Jessep on the stand, which Kaffee rejects and then ridicules her for before she leaves.  So, Sam says to Kaffee afterward "Did I ever tell you I wrote a paper about your father in college?" and Kaffee says "Yeah?" and Sam says "One of the best trial lawyers ever" and Kaffee says "Yes, he was".  And Sam goes on to say "But if I were Dawson and Downey, and had to choose you or him...I'd choose you any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. You should have seen yourself thunder away at Kendrick".  Kaffee then asks "Would you put Jessep on the stand?" and Sam says "No" and Kaffee asks "Do you think my father would have?" and Sam says "With the evidence we got, not in a million years".  But Sam then says "But here's the thing, and we can't get around this: Neither Lionel Kaffee nor Sam Weinberg are lead counsel for the defense in U.S. v. Dawson and Downey. So there's really only one question: What would you do?".

And lastly is the scene where the next morning, Kaffee decides to put Jessep on the stand and they start to go about their tactics for the case.  And Sam asks "What do we do?" and Jo says "I think we should hit Jessep with the phony transfer order" and Sam says "Without a witness" and Jo says "We have a witness" and Sam says "A dead witness".  And Kaffee, shooting hoops with his basketball says "In the hands of a lesser attorney that would be a problem!" and Sam smiles and says to Jo "Look at this.  Last night he was swimming in Jack Daniels and this morning he can leap tall buildings with a single bound!".  And as Kaffee confidently makes his case for how he will get Jessep to admit he ordered the code red and then asks where his baseball bat and that he thinks better with it.  So, after Kaffee get's his bat, he quickly looks at his closet that contains his lawyer clothes and he then races out saying "Stay here, I'm going to the office for a while!" and Sam says to Jo "He DOES think better with that bat!".

J.T. Walsh is also very good in his role as Lt Colonel Markinson, Jessep's executive officer, who feels guilty about Santiago's death and decides to later help Kaffee.

And I will mention for the sake of time only one of J.T.'s scenes and its the one where Markinson sneaks into Kaffee's car while he is out getting himself a magazine.  And as Kaffee get's in and drives away, he suddenly sees Markinson in the back seat and he exclaims in surprise "Jesus Christ!!" and Markinson says "You left the door unlocked".  And Kaffee asks him "Are you aware you are under subpeona?" and Markinson says "Yes. I'm also aware the lives of two Marines are in your hands. If I could do something about that, I would. Since I can't, all I can do is help you, Lieutenant".

So, Kaffee asks him "What do you know?" and Markinson says "I know everything" and Kaffee asks "Was it a code red?" and Marikin says "Yes" and Kaffee asks "Did Kendrick give the order?" and Markinson says "Yes".  And Kaffee then asks "Did you witness it?" and Markinson says "No" and Kaffee asks "Then how do you know?" and Markinson says "I know" and Kaffee says "Yeah, you know shit!" but Markinson then says "He was never going to be transferred off that base" which prompts Kaffee to pull over his car and look back at Markinson.  And Markinson continues "Jessep was gonna keep him on the base and wanted him trained".  Kaffee then says "You signed the transfer order" and Markinson tells him "I know.  I signed it the morning you arrived in Cuba.  Five days after Santiago died".  Kaffee then starts his car again and says to Markinson that he will work out a deal with prosecutor to offer him immunity and that he will check him into a motel.  Markinson then says "I don't want a deal, and I don't want immunity. I want you to know that I'm not proud of what I have done, nor of what I am doing".

Kiefer Sutherland next is excellent as Lt Kendrick, the Guantanamo bay officer, who is alleged to have given the code red order on Santiago.

Kiefer also his his moments in the film such as the one where Kendrick shows Kaffee, Jo and Sam around Santiago's quarters, which were sealed off.  And Kaffee asks Kendrick "Lt Kendrick, may I call you John?" and Kendrick formally says "No, you may not" and Kaffee asks him "Have I done something to offend you" and Kendrick replies "No, I like all you Navy boys.  Anytime we have to go some place to fight, you fellas always give us a ride".  Jo then asks Kendrick "Lieutenant, do you think Santiago was murdered?" and Kendrick tells her "Commander, I believe in God and his son Jesus Christ.  Because I do, I can say this: Private Santiago is dead and that is a tragedy.  But he is dead because he had no code, he is dead because he had no honour and God was watching!".

And lastly there is Kiefer's big courtroom scene where Kaffee questions Kendrick on the stand over Santiago's death.

And in the scene, Kaffee asks Kendrick "Lt Kendrick, would you say Santiago was a good marine?" and Kendrick says "I'd say he was about average".  Kaffee however then produces some conduct reports and hands them over to Kendrick who looks at them and says "Yes, Private Santiago was below average.  I do not see the need to trample on the man's grave".

Kaffee then questions Kendrick about another marine, Private Bell, who was caught sneaking liquor out of the officer's club.  So, Kaffee asks Kendrick "Did you report Private Bell to the proper authorities?" and Kendrick smiles and says "I have two books at my bedside, Lieutenant: the Marine Code of conduct and the King James Bible. The only proper authorities I'm aware of are Colonel Jessep and the Lord our God!".

Then Kaffee questions Kendrick about Dawson receiving a below average report rating on one occassion "Was Dawson given a below average rating because he was caught sneaking food to Private Bell?".  And Kendrick replies "Lance Coporal Dawson was given a below average rating because he committed a crime?" and Kaffee asks "What crime did he committ?" and Kendrick says "He disobeyed an order".  And Kaffee says "And because he made a decision about the welfare of a Marine that conflicted with your order, he was punished, right?" and Kendrick again firmly says "Lance Corporal Dawson disobeyed an order!".

And Kaffee finishes by saying to Kendrick "Lieutenant Kendrick, one final question. If you HAD ordered Dawson to GIVE Santiago a Code Red...!" and this rattles Kendrick who shouts "I told those men specifically not to touch Santiago!!".  And Kaffee finishes "...wouldn't it be reasonable to think he disobeyed you again???!" and Ross shouts out "Lt, don't answer that!" and Kaffee says "You don't have to, I'm through!".  So, Ross asks Kendrick one last time "Did you order Dawson and Downey to give Santiago a code red?" and Kendrick, still rattled says "No, I did not!". 

Wolfgang Bodison next up is very good in his debut role as Lance Corporal Dawson and Bodison himself never had any prior acting experience and was actually the personal assistant to the director, Rob Reiner, who thought Bodison fit the bill physically for the role, so he had him audition. Bodison himself would carry on as a professional actor and appeared in various film and TV roles. 

And Bodison has some good moments aswell but I will mention just a couple of his scenes and the first being the one where Kaffee offers Dawson and Downey a deal so that they can serve just a six month prison sentence.

However in the scene Dawson refuses the deal and says to Kaffee "I'm afraid we can't do that, sir" and Kaffee asks "Do what?" and Dawson says "Make a deal, sir.".  Kaffee, bemused says "What are you talking about?!" and Dawson says "We did nothing wrong. We did our job. If that has consequences, I'll accept them. But I won't say that I'm guilty, sir".  And Kaffee tries to make another attempt at convincing Dawson to go for the deal "Six months!  Do it, Harold!  Six months, its nothing.  Its a hockey season!".  Dawson then takes a moment and says "Permission to...." and Kaffee exasperated by Dawson's formality shouts "SPEAK!!! JESUS!!".

So, Dawson asks "What do we do then, sir?" and Kaffee asks "When?" and Dawson says "After six months, we'll be dishonourably discharged, right, sir?" and Kaffee says "Probably" and Dawson asks again "What do we do then, sir?" and Kaffee has no answer.  So, Dawson get's up and explains "We joined the Marines because we wanted to live by a certain code. You're asking us to say we have no honor, that we're not Marines! If a court decides what we did was wrong, I'll accept whatever punishment they give."  And then he walks toward to Kaffee and says firmly "But I believe I was right, sir. I believe I did my job and I will not dishonor myself, my unit ...or the Corps, so that I can go home in SIX MONTHS! Sir!".

And Kaffee tells the others he wants a moment alone with Dawson, so the others leave and Kaffee says to Dawson "You know, Downey worships you.  He's gonna do whatever you do.  Are you really gonna let this happen to him because of a code, Harold?".  And Dawson asks "Do you think we were right?" and Kaffee says "It doesn't matter what I think..." but Dawson snaps "Do you think we were right???!!!" and Kaffee says "I think you'd lose".  Dawson then looks at Kaffee with disgust and says "You're such a coward!  I can't believe they let you wear a uniform!".  And Kaffee tells him "I'm not going to feel responsible for this, Harold.  You're going to Leavenworth for the better part of your life and you know what?!  I don't give a shit!".  Kaffee opens the door to leave and asks Dawson "What happened to saluting an officer when he leaves the room?" and Dawson stands up and defiantly shoves his hands in his pockets instead.

And lastly (SPOILER!!!!!!!!!) there is the scene where Dawson and Downey's trial is over and they are found not guilty of the murder but are guilty of conduct unbecoming a US marine, so they are to be discharged form the marine corps.  And Downey, confused asks Dawson "What did that mean?" and he approaches Jo and says "Colonel Jessep said he ordered the code red!  What did we do wrong?!  We did nothing wrong!!".  And Dawson, looking ashamed says "Yeah we did.  We were supposed to fight for people who couldn't fight for themselves.  We were supposed to fight for Willy".  And as Dawson and Downey are about to leave the courtroom, Kaffee says to Dawson "Harold...you don't need to wear a patch on your arm to have honour" and Dawson, suddenly filled with respect for Kaffee says to him "Ten-hut!  There's an officer on deck!" and he salutes Kaffee, who salutes back and Dawson leaves.

James Marshall is also pretty good as the naive Private Downey facing trial for carrying out a code red on a fellow marine, Private Santiago, who died as a result.

And Marshall's best main scene is where Downey is questioned by Ross in court over the day on which the code red took place.  And in the scene Ross asks Downey "Private, the week of 2 September, the switch log has you down at post 39 until 16:00, is that right?" and Downey replies "I'm sure it is, sir, they keep that log pretty good".  Ross then asks "How far is it from Post 39 to the barracks?" and Downey says "Oh, its a ways, sir.  Its a hike" and Ross asks "Have you ever had to walk it?" and Downey says "Yes, sir, that day. Friday. The pickup private-- That's what we call the guy that drops us off. Also because he can get the girls in New York City....he got a flat tire at Post 39, so we had to double time it back to the barracks".  Ross then says to Downey "And if its 15 minutes by jeep, I'm guessing its an hour by foot, right?" and Downey with a sense of pride says "Pick-up private and me did it in 45 flat, sir" and Ross smiles and says "Not bad".

So, Ross then says to Downey "You've said your assault on Santiago was ordered by Lieutenant Kendrick...in your barracks room at 16:20, am I right?" and Downey says "Yes, sir".  However Ross throws Downey a curve ball "But you just said you didn't get back to the barracks until 16:45" and Downey looks nervous "Sir?" and Ross says "If you weren't back till 16:45, how could you be in your room at 16:20?".  Downey now flustered says "Well, you see, sir, there was a blowout..." but Ross interrupts him and asks "Private, did you ever actually hear Lt Kendrick order a code red?" and Downey nervously says "Well, Hal said..." and Ross firmly asks again "Private, did you ever actually hear Lt Kendrick order a code red?!" and Downey, caving under pressure says "No, sir".

So, Ross grills Downey further and asks "Why did you go to Santiago's room?  Did Dawson tell you to?" and Downey panics and looks at Dawson and says "Hal...!" and Ross shouts "Don't look at him!!".  And Downey shouts again "Hal?!" and Dawson shouts out "Private, answer the Captain's question!" and Downey, beaten says "Yes. I was given an order by Lance Corporal Harold W. Dawson United States Marine Corps and I followed it!".

And second to last is Noah Wyle does well in his brief role as Corporal Barnes, who also testifies at Dawson and Downey's trial.

And Wyle's main scene is his testimony trial scene where he recalls that he once received a code red himself.  So, Kaffee asks Barnes "Did you ever receive a code red" and Barnes says "Yes, sir. We were doing seven minute assault drills and I dropped my weapon. It was over 100 degrees and my palms were sweaty and I hadn't used the resin like we were tought".  So, Kaffee asks "What happened?" and Barnes tells him "A few guys in my squad threw a blanket over me. Took turns punching me on the arms for five minutes and they poured glue on my hands. And it worked cos I ain't never dropped my weapon since!".

So, Kaffee asks Barnes if Santiago never received a code red prior to the one he got the night he died who says he never did.  So, Kaffee says "You got a code red because your palms were sweaty.  Why didn't Santiago and his burden to his unit, never get one?" and Barnes takes a moment and says "Dawson wouldn't allow it, sir.  The guys would talk tough about Santiago but they would never go near him.  They were too afraid of Dawson, sir".  Ross at this point says "Object!  The witness is speculating!" so Kaffee says "Alright, I'll rephrase...Jeffrey did you want to give Santiago a code red?" and Barnes says "Yes, sir" and Kaffee asks "Why didn't you?" and Barnes smiles and yes "Cos, Dawson would kick my butt, sir!" and Kaffee says "Fair enough".

And last of all is Cuba Gooding Jr, who makes an appearance in his small role as Corporal Hammaker and he does well enough in the brief role that he has but he only has a small amount of dialogue.

So, I will quote a part of his scene where the prosecutor, Captain Ross questions Hammaker about Kendrick's order to not touch Santiago. So, Ross asks Hammaker about Santiago's letter "Did it make you, Corporal?" and the Corporal doesn't respond, so Ross asks "Its OK, Corporal, did it make you mad?" and Hammaker says "Yes, sir" and Ross asks "How did it make you mad?" and Hammaker says "Private Santiago betrayed a code we believe in very deeply, sir". 

End of Performances section!  Sheesh that was a BIG one! 

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

So, FINALLY moving onto the director and music stuff, starting with the director, Rob Reiner does an excellent job here with the film and its surprising to see him direct a drama for a change here as he was previously associated with comedies (the most notable of which were "This is Spinal Tap" and "When Harry met Sally...").  Yet, Reiner makes the change to drama very confidently and he paces the film well, even if its running time of 2 hours and 18 minutes might appear a little lengthy its doesn't really feel that long.

And despite an emphasis on drama, Reiner still injects plenty of humour into the film as the cast and characters all deliver some wonderfully witty dialogue written by Sorkin.  This allows for Kaffee, Sam and Jo to develop a rapport with one another and work well together as a team as things progress and overall Reiner does an expert job at putting this together in the film. Reiner tragically however later in life was murdered along with his wife as the result of stabbing in December last year, for which Reiner's son, Nick Reiner was charged with the crime although he pleaded not guilty. Reiner's death was a great loss to Hollywood as he directed several classic films throughout his career.   

Music wise, Marc Shaiman provides the score and its a pretty good one overall even though its use of synthesizers does date it a little to the early 90's period the film was made in (1992) but Shaiman's score is still very well suited to the tone of the film.  Shaiman also scores a version of John Phillip Sousa's "The Washington Post March" which given that its a film about the US Navy and Marines its very suitable and is used for both intro and end credits.

FLAWS

As for flaws....yeah OK "A few good men" isn't quite that perfect.

For starters one of the problems I had with the film was to do with Sorkin's screenplay, while it is excellent and very well written, there are times where it is just a bit too excessive in its verboseness and Sorking could finish off his character's sentences a lot quicker than he does!  So instead of e.g. Jessep saying to Markinson "Maybe transferring Santiago isn't the American way, Matthew" he has to say "And now I'm thinking, Lt Colonel Matthew Markinson, that your suggestion of transferring Santiago, while expeditious, and certainly painless, might not be in a manner of speaking, the American way!".  I mean surely he could just cut down their sentences just a bit as it makes the writing feel really bloated at times.  Sorkin's script is high quality but it is also a bit too high on words as well. 

Plus, is it really necessary to use the characters full names?? In terms of legal investigations, its apparently not common practice to say the full name of the person they enquire about, so instead of Lt Colonel Matthew Markinson, they would really just says Lt Colonel Markinson. So, again Sorkin is guilty of bloating the dialogue more than is needed.  

Another issue I had was to do with Kaffee's character as he is the typical cocky callow youth, who is actually a very inexperienced lawyer and given that, why in the hell would he be the best man for the job of defending two marines charged with murder????  Surely they really should have given the case to someone who has a bit more experience on their side when its comes to trial law, but nope let's just give it to the cocky young lawyer who's making a start in life! Of course Tom Cruise had made a career out of playing cocky young guys up to this point, so this was no real departure for him.

Further to this point, Kaffee throughout shows he is not the most adept lawyer either, as he says at one point he needs Sam to help him prepare their witnesses for trial and is not the best at research. I mean Kaffee IS a lawyer, isn't that meant to be HIS job?!! But nope instead they go for showing Kaffee to be both lazy as well as inexperienced in his role as a lawyer.  

Then there is the whole thing about Jessep's blatant deviousness, which Jo uncovers on their trip to Cuba as she presses him on whether code reds still go on at his base despite receiving cautionary memos against such actions. So, Jessep indirectly but still rather blatantly admits that code reds DO appear to go on at the base and he is also in favour of them as an "invaluable part of close infantry training".  So, even though Jessep doesn't admit it outright, its clear that he was in favour of the code red against Santiago.

Then there are some daft choices of dialogue in the film here and there such as the scene where Sam criticises Jo for her failed objection against the Doctor. So, in the scene asks her why she likes the marines so much and her response "Because they stand on a wall and say nothing is gonna hurt you tonight, not on my watch!" is pretty cringe inducing!

Another is when Kaffee questions Jessep on the stand and he asks why Santiago was transferred and Jessep says "I thought his life might be in danger once word of the letter got out" and Kaffee asks "Grave danger, sir?" and Jessep sharply replies "Is there another kind?!". Now, there is of course more than just one kind of danger from mild to extreme levels of danger, so to say grave danger is the one and only type of danger is pretty silly. 

Last of all is of course the final scene with Dawson and Kaffee where after Dawson is cleared from the trial but to be discharged from the marine corp, Kaffee tells him he doesn't need to wear a patch to have honour. So, Dawson proudly shouts "Ten hut! There is an office on deck!" and they both salute, which is again very cringe inducing! So, these lines remain a blot on an otherwise brilliantly written film. 

Another thing that bugged me was why did they choose Downey as the witness to take the stand over Dawson???  Dawson is the far more capable, decisive and articulate of the two, so surely he should have testified instead of Downey because they both recieved the order from Kendrick, its not like Dawson did it himself.  Or rather, perhaps Downey was picked for the sake of a plot device, so that the code red order could be pinned on Dawson instead, but I still think its daft regardless.

UPDATE: However on doing a bit of digging on this (or rather using Google AI!) it appears a good reason why Downey was picked instead of Dawson is because Dawson was far more hardened and disciplined than Downey, so it might have been tougher for him to crack under the prosecution's questions. Further to this, Downey was the weaker of the two and his vulnerability might have made him more sympathetic to a jury than Dawson's hard ass persona would have. I guess this is backed up by Dawson earlier in the film saying to Kaffee "I believe I was right, sir and I did my job and I will not dishonour myself, my unit or the core!".  

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, A Few Good Men is still an excellent legal drama three decades on and it features some great performances particularly from Cruise, Nicholson and Bacon but Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak and Kiefer Sutherland also provide very solid support. The script from Aaron Sorkin is also high quality, despite the odd cheesy bit of dialogue here and there and Rob Reiner's direction is very solid throughout. There are of course some minor plot niggles and as already mentioned some cringy dialogue but that aside, A Few Good Men is a highly entertaining and gripping drama, which is well worth a look or revisit. 

So, I will rate A Few Good Men:

9 out of 10

Right, that's all for now and I'll be back sometime next month with another post.

So, until then its bye for now!