A Few Good Men, like many courtroom dramas, begins with a murder. In this case, it's a Marine by the name of William Santiago. A pair of Marine's have been convicted in this man's death and now a trio of lawyers have been tasked with being the defense attorneys for the duo. Embarking on this mission are the overly brash Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), endlessly determined JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) and Kaffee's work buddy Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollack). While tackling this case, the lawyers discover that the pair of convicted Marine's refuse to take any kind of plea deal. They feel they've done nothing wrong, they were just following orders and doing what they saw as right for their Marine brothers and sisters.
This thought process leads the trio of lawyers to do some digging and discover a process known as a Code Red that sees military higher-up's ordering their soldiers to rough up anyone in the squad who is engaging in matters like daring to speak their mind. In the minds of folks like Colonel Nathan R. Jessup (Jack Nicholson), soldiers are meant to say "Yes, sir!" and follow orders, not question the status quo like William Santiago did. This is some weighty material that certainly feels just as timely in 2020 as it did in 1991 when A Few Good Men first came out. Heck, what this movie reminded of was Taxi To The Dark Side and how that documentary depicted young soldiers carrying out the most grotesque torture techniques simply because they'd had it hammered into their heads that anything your superior orders you to do is fine.
In addition to delving into tragically timeless material related to how blind loyalty leads to all kinds of chaos, A Few Good Men also demonstrates how broad archetypes can totally work if you execute them well. To wit, A Few Good Men is populated by people who may not have a multitude of dimensions but the dialogue and performances used to bring these characters to life make that a non-issue. Your characters can be obvious if they're fun to watch! Plus, the lack of depth feels like a smart intentional move in some cases. Of course, Jessup wears his malicious nature on his sleeve. Have you seen jingoistic white dudes in positions of power, like, say, the current President of the United States?
These kinds of figures that Jessup is meant to represent don't tend to have any extra layers informing their hatred, they just suck. That quietly-implemented detail is one of a number of commendable aspects of Sorkin's writing. Another noteworthy part of his screenplay is Sorkin's trademark penchant for colorful language and memorable metaphors. Nobody may deliver a monologue while walking down a hallway in a tracking shot but the dialogue still glows as vintage Sorkin, who uses these uniquely rendered lines to further aid the characters. Anyone who has watched more than a dozen movies has seen smarmy young lawyers like Daniel Kaffee but the lines Sorkin gives this character ensure that Kaffee can more than stand on his own as a unique character.
Plus, Sorkin manages to pen some truly riveting courtroom exchanges between the lawyers and witnesses. That's the most important element any courtroom drama has to get right. Both Sorkin and Rob Reiner, as writer and director, respectively, manage to wring these types of scenes in A Few Good Men for all their potential entertainment. Included in these sequences is Jack Nicholson delivering that "You can't handle the truth!" line in the middle of a prolonged speech. Even after all the parodies & references, this line and Nicholson's whole performance here still register as something special. It's one of a number of memorable moments in A Few Good Men, which serves as another example of how well Sorkin tends to do with his forays into cinema screenplays.
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