A Few Good Men

Starring: Tom Cruise

Directed by: Rob Reiner

RS: Not Rated

1992 Drama

Jack Nicholson figures in only a few scenes in "A Few Good Men," a courtroom dazzler in which he plays Colonel Nathan Jessep, the marine base commander in Cuba who squashes brat navy lawyers like Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) without breaking stride. But his presence electrifies the film. Nicholson is a marvel -- fierce, funny and coiled to spring. Oscar is bound to salute.

In fact, "A Few Good Men" has Oscar written all over it. Not for the valid reason (it's fun), but because Academy voters are suckers for a theatrical pedigree (Aaron Sorkin's play was a 1989 Broadway hit) and a weighty moral theme (honor versus duty). They'll hardly notice it's a skin-deep crib of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, with Jessep as Queeg.

Two young marines, Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) and Downey (James Marshall), are on trial for the death of a platoon mate. Was it an accident caused by an unauthorized hazing or a murder engineered and covered up by Jessep and his ramrod, Lieutenant Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland)? Sutherland, all twisted integrity, gives his best performance yet.

Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway (Demi Moore), an Internal Affairs lawyer, is convinced Dawson and Downey are being framed and wants to take on the brass herself. Instead, she's forced to work with Kaffee, a plea-bargaining goldbrick just out of Harvard who is more interested in softball than justice. Kaffee's wiseass demeanor masks two fears: He's intimidated by his late father's reputation as a navy lawyer. And he's never taken a real case to court. The part is a great fit for Cruise. He's a fireball, hilarious doing a dead-on impression of Nicholson and unexpectedly touching when he lets Kaffee's insecurities crack through the Cruise starshine. Moore squeezes the juice out of her underwritten role. And Kevin Bacon shows becoming steel as the prosecutor, Captain Ross.

That the performances are uniformly outstanding is a tribute to Rob Reiner ("Misery"), who directs with masterly assurance, fusing suspense and character to create a movie that literally vibrates with energy. The plot still trips on the occasional pompous clichT (Kaffee actually says, "You don't need to wear a patch on your arm to have honor"), but Sorkin has unloaded much of the play's artifice.

Everything builds to the moment when Jessep takes the stand and Kaffee has to emerge from his father's shadow to slamdunk Jessep and become his own man. There's no bigger kick in movies right now than watching Nicholson pull out all the stops as he takes on Cruise. Maybe it isn't art. Sometimes witty, suspenseful, knockout entertainment is enough.

PETER TRAVERS
RS 647