At Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a U.S. Marine is murdered and two Marines are arrested. Their case is given to Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, a fast thinking lawyer who has a record of settling out of court. Kaffee immediately gets to work on a plea bargain for the Marines, but they refuse to agree to one. The Marines admit that they were simply following orders to commit a hazing ritual and it went too far; they maintain their innocence and demand their honor be defended. Reluctantly agreeing to see their case through, this sends Kaffee, Lieutenant Commander Joan Galloway, and Lieutenant Sam Weinberg, each of the JAG Corps, on an investigation of the highest levels of the Marines’ command.
An Aaron Sorkin screenplay, directed by Rob Reiner, with an amazing Cast—yeah, I knew I was going to like this one. It’s like loving pizza and then hearing about a new, highly-recommended pizza place. I was satisfied by all the ways I expected to enjoy this pizza (cheese, sauce, etc.) and pleasantly surprised by the ways I didn’t expect (spicy honey drizzle, perhaps?). The script adequately twists and turns. I loved the “living in the shadow of his father, earning a reputation for ‘winning’ but not really because he settles out of court, but who now has to face the trail of his lifetime” backstory for Kaffee and Tom Cruise pulled it off perfectly. And Jack Nicholson plays the perfect tough, arrogant Colonel, and you gotta love films with iconic one-liners. Taking the courtroom drama and skewing it slightly, with the military overlay, was the perfect way to take something familiar and make it new. Like, I don’t think I need to see a whole show about it, but this was perfect.