Rules of Engagement is pretty Engaging

Rating: 10/10 (12 January 2010)

Rules of Engagement, released in 2000, is a controversial film on some levels but quite a simple story. The rules that a soldier must up hold to save his or her life are also the same rules that can be used to condemn him or her. The film is obviously controversial because of the subject matter concerning the military and the Arabs but the movie is basically about friendship and the thin line between what makes a soldier a hero or a cold hearten murderer. However everyone is entitled to how the movie touches them.
This is probably Friedkin's finest film since To Live and Die in L.A. The way the courtroom scenes were filmed completely engaged and sucked me into each parties argument in the case. The scenes reminded me of his earlier movies that involved court case like Rampage(1987) and his brilliant 1997 remake of 12 Angry Men. The scenes were very tense.
The performances were top notch and the action sequences were very believable and realistic, just like in any of Friedkin's other movies, he used documentary techniques and making things appear out of control and into complete chaos. The protest scene in the film is quite similar to the riot scene in Sorcerer(1977), the Chinatown car chase in Jade(1995), the bridge sequence in The Hunted(2003).