A flawed, but entertaining 2 hours....

Rating: 7/10 (1 February 2001)

Rules of Engagement just doesn't follow the rules of satisfying film making. This doesn't mean that it is a bad movie or that it is not worthy of a rental at the video store, it just means that when the credits are rolled, the viewer is not left with the feeling of total satisfaction at having watched an excellent film.
The movies strengths definitely lie in the strong portrayals turned in by the 2 male leads. Mr. Jackson was more subdued than usual, but extremely effective, as was Mr. Jones. With the exception of a poorly executed fight scene involving these 2 actors, their performances were the glue which held the movie together at its weakest moments.
The story line, while engaging and interesting, had an extremely choppy feel to it. Almost as if important scenes were left on the cutting room floor by mistake, while less important scenes had made it onto the final reel. However, this is a relatively minor complaint.
The last 10 minutes of the film were completely unforgivable. It's as if the film makers ran out of time, and instead of showing you how the story ended, we get a series of screens with captions depicting how the rest of the plot unfolded. There is no catharsis for the viewer. No feeling that justice had been served. I recall feeling angry as the credits rolled that they had chosen the "cop-out" way to end the film.
Maybe I am being too picky? I don't know. The rest film is good enough for me to recommend seeing it and drawing your own conclusions.