Uneven courtroom drama with strong acting in the final act

Rating: 6/10 (17 September 2007)

After a decorated USMC Colonel orders his men to open fire on unarmed demonstrators and results in 83 dead and unarmed people he is faced with a court-martial. He confides in an old friend to defend him and there is more to the case than seen at first glance.
Tackling written laws and defining gray areas between them in a strict and regimented organization like the military can serve for great drama. Such a film needs strong performances and well directed scenes to get its point across that sometimes breaking the rules isn't really breaking them, but reacting to unexpected changes. "A Few Good Men" superbly discussed such issues and "Rules of Engagement" tries the same with a certain degree of success, but also some crippling flaws.
The sequence in the US embassy has weapons magically disappearing and a mysterious tape with crucial evidence never turning up after vanishing from the scene. There are some hints given as to why this happened and you believe you are in for a twist at the conclusion. Politics with the Middle East have been slippery for centuries so it is good material for a political drama and is believable as a starting point for the film's main plot. However, these loose ends are never tied up and the film completely deviates from the big picture with which it starts (an international crisis) to a small picture that deals with one man's honor and ability to lead. This makes the film awfully one sided and not nearly as good of a movie as it could have been. Screenwriter Stephen Gaghan revisited Middle Eastern politics with his film "Syriana" with much greater effectiveness.
However, the performances here are strong and are the film's saving grace from mediocrity. Though they only get really in the film's final courtroom act. Until then, it is a slightly uneven film and it never manages to recover from its "angry America hating Muslim" stereotype. Too bad that the film could have if it addressed all the issues that it brought up. --- 6/10
Rated R for violence and profanity. Ages 13+.