'Honour, Code, Loyalty.'

When Colonel Nathan R. Jessop (Jack Nicolson), Commanding Officer of Windward Division Guantanamo Bay Cuba, gives an order you follow it. You follow it, ‘or people die – it’s that simple’. 

Ironically, that’s exactly what happened when he ordered the divisional officer of Bravo Company, Lt. Jonathan James Kendrick (Keifer Sutherland), to ‘train’ one of his men, a procedure informally referred to by the Marines stationed in Guantanamo  as a ‘code-red’.  

When Private Santiago dies as a result from receiving the code-red, what was supposed to be a routine order and just some in-house corrective training, suddenly becomes a murder charge and a possible military scandal for the Colonel. 

Ordinarily, giving someone a code-red isn’t a problem. It helps to keep the guys in check. Furthermore, every soldier in the Colonel’s unit knows better than to break the chain-of-command when they have an issue. They chose to live their lives by a certain code, a code that says: Unit, Corps, God, Country. That’s the order of priority for you when you are a marine in Guantanamo Bay. Santiago took problems he had in the unit to people on the outside and by doing so betrayed the code.

When word of his betrayal leaked, understandably, many of his fellow enlisted men were pissed at him and wanted to sort him out pronto, but at a divisional meeting, the platoon leader Lt. Kendrick told the men that anyone seeking retribution should refrain from it.  

What they didn’t know was that after that meeting broke, Kendrick specifically ordered two marines to give Santiago a code-red. Why is this an issue? Because Jessop received a memo earlier that year stating that the practice of code-reds was forbidden and illegal.

Fortunately, for both Corporal Harold W. Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey, the marines accused of Santiago’s death, the JAG Court has the perfect man to represent them; cue in Daniel Kaffee. 

Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is a special lawyer. He has successfully plea-bargained 44 cases in just 9 months, about the same length of time of  Danny’s employment as an attorney in the Navy. Although his track record for plea-bargaining is impressive, it might also be the reason why he is assigned to this high-profile case; Danny has never been inside a courtroom, let alone make a legal argument in one.  

In ‘A Few Good Men’, Tom Cruise delivers a powerhouse performance as the young Lieutenant, Daniel Kaffee. Danny’s father was Lionel Kaffee, former Navy Judge Advocate and Attorney General of the United States. That means Danny has some big shoes to fill when it comes to defending the two Marines that are now on trial for their lives. 

'I want the truth!"

There’s just one problem: both Jessop and Kendrick deny ever giving such an order and Danny can’t proof conspiracy or purgery.  In fact, accusing a high-ranking officer of such a crime without having any evidence is a slippery slope at best, and if he does so, he’ll be in danger of being dishonourably discharged from the Navy.

'You can't handle the truth!'

The reworking of A Few Good Men from the classic Broadway play appears an effortless transition from the stage onto the screen. The cinematography is beautiful and you can sense that director Rob Reiner treated this project like a real gem. 

From a performance perspective both Cruise and Nicolson are on fire and at their very best. J.T Walsch delivers a classic low-key performance in his role as Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson and Kiefer Sutherland again in his is the perfect antagonist. At the time of filming, the issues addressed in the movie actually did occur in the military, albeit to some lesser degree.

The beauty of the message of ‘A Few Good Men’ lies within its deeper sub-plot and it’s one that tells the story of a young man coming of age.

When a man leaves the legacy of being a good father and role model, the day he dies he leaves a huge void in the lives of the people he touched. For Daniel, this is especially true. Not only does he have to overcome his own fears and ideas that he has about himself, but also the ones he wrongfully thought might have been his father’s. 

'I think my father would have enjoyed seeing me graduate from Law School.'

Luckily, Danny is not about to lie down without a fight. He knows how to fight, and he knows how to win. Fighting for Dawson and Downey therefore also becomes the fight for his life and the place he hopes to take up in it.

In a day and age where the world needs more than just a few a good men, this movie will inspire you to be one, it will have you laughing and crying at the same time making the emotional roller-coaster it takes you on every bit as powerful as the message of the film itself.

'Honor, Code, Loyalty.'