Rules to Not Engage.

Rating: 5/10 (29 May 2015)

Rules of Engagement (2000): Dir: William Friedkin / Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley, Bruce Greenwood: Retread formula that seems to reference the delicate reality of life and how one decision can end it. It has a powerful plot concept that seems spliced together from other films. It begins in Vietnam 1968 where Tommy Lee Jones is rescued by Samuel L. Jackson. Central plot regards an attack on the American Embassy by snipers in an Arab city. Jackson orders retaliation when weapons appear among civilians resulting in the slaughter of women and children. Jackson is brought to trial and seeks Jones to represent him. There is nothing surprising about this recycled plot. Director William Friedkin does a skillful job at staging the civilian chaos but with The Exorcist and The French Connection he had tighter screenplays to back him up. Jackson and Jones have played these roles countless times and the drill is getting tiring. Jackson played this out in A Time to Kill and The Negotiator, and Jones seems poised to get people out of trouble. Guy Pearce is playing the typical opposing lawyer. Ben Kingsley is featured in the opening chaotic scenes but he seems merely typecast. This is a well made political thriller that is bombarded with familiarity. Bottom line is that Friedkin is too far above this engagement in familiarity. Score: 5 / 10