G.I. Jane

Rating: Null/10 (30 May 2004)

By this point in Disney's post-'Mermaid' history, they felt they had a grip on culture with their colorful-yet-pointless musicals. Remember, it's because we accepted all this lard that we now love 'Shrek'. If society had rejected this at its roots, our green ogre friend would never have existed (or spawned a sequel).
So, once again, Disney does its usual work in the design and marketing phases and lets our minds do the rest. Interestingly enough, this is a bridge between Phases III and IV for the studio. Pixar recovered from 'Bug's Life' with 'Toy Story 2' and within two years
Disney loves itself and lovingly sticks to its prefabricated formulas. Think of it, when was the last time a Disney cartoon tried taking risks? The last one that comes to mind would have to be 'The Black Cauldron'. Too bad that same attitude doesn't translate here, nothing remotely objectionable can be shown. In some respects, George Lucas should be running Disney since the two of them think alike (look at the extended version of 'Jedi' and the 'Star Wars' prequels if you don't believe me).
So what do we have here? Militarism, snobby chauvinism, holier-than-thou sexism, and a frozen camera. That's why Disney hired Jerry Goldsmith to do the music, he caught on to the 'Rambo' course this movie was taking, so he inserted some of those cues into his score. Just listen. The same thing happened with Klaus and Zimmer on 'Pirates', they used their 'Gladiator' work again.
Look elsewhere for an interesting Disney ride, you won't find it here.
Final Analysis = = Cinematic Dud