by - the - numbers : a film which introduces characters , situations , dilemmas and developments that we 've seen before in a parade of other films .
a film which can easily be guessed out by the end of frame number one .
a film which is packed to the cap with predictability , leading to very little tension , excitement , suspense or interest on the part of its paying audience .
in short , a clich ?
-ridden formula film .
welcome to my review of the general 's daughter .
plot :
an undercover army detective and a rape counselor find themselves locked inside an investigation into some bigwig general daughter 's rape , torture and murder .
they must delve through all of the unspoken army rules and the hush - hushes , to figure out the conspiracy behind the shocking murder .
critique : by the numbers
( see above ) .
this film is just there .
it sits there on the big screen for a couple of hours , floats around , goes away , hopefully never to be heard from again .
it is so predictable that even a blind man could see its plot points coming a mile away .
it 's as suspenseful as a leaf dropping from a tree .
it 's as action - packed as a canadian curling tournament
.
get the picture ?
i sure did . . .
it 's too bad that it took my friend
and i less than two minutes to figure out the entire plot , and to break down each scene before it was even completed .
easy as pie .
it 's unfortunate because james woods and john travolta actually have one extremely enjoyable scene together near the beginning of the film , but alas , t'was not to be
( that scene alone scored two of my four points allotted . )
woods chews it up in the few scenes that he 's in , travolta passes the test , cromwell plays , well , cromwell , and stowe is window dressing with a smile ( mia since 12 monkeys ( 8/10 )
it seems ) .
and this predictability is n't reserved only to those who have seen films like courage under fire or a few good men , it runs deep inside every one of us who knows to suspect someone as soon as they see their obvious guilty mug on the big screen .
it 's like riding a bike .
other scenarios which sponge out any tension , suspense or interest from this film include every single character eventually " breaking down " to the investigators without much reason given , a ridiculously placed background relationship between two of the lead characters , as much action as my grandparents bedroom nightly , and a directorial style that can only reward director simon west with a solid nomination for the " best poor man 's michael bay doing his best poor man 's impression of tony scott
" ( add two scenes with sunlight shining through some half - open shades for grit and integrity , and an all - out rainfall for the finale for further chaos , and you 're a great director . yawn .
yeah ,
whatever tony . . .
i mean , simon . )
and are n't we all sick of hearing about these army " bad boys " and their overdone " code of silence " ? ! enough already !
next subject ,
please . see it on video if you wanna fall asleep after seeing a much better movie like an officer and a gentleman ( 8 . 5/10 ) .
otherwise , save yourself the trouble and go take a crap instead .
you 'll feel much better afterwards .
trust me .
little known facts about this film and its stars : ironically , john travolta turned down the lead role in an officer and a gentleman , which eventually went to little dickie gere .
ironically on james woods ' part , he completed one of his earliest acting roles on tv 's " welcome back , kotter " , starring none other than john travolta .
actor james woods recently confirmed reports of his " big dick " on howard stern 's radio program .
unlike rocker tommy lee , woods is also alleged to have an iq of 180 .
he apparently scored a perfect 800 on his verbal sats and a 779 on the math section .
what a man !
john travolta is married to actress kelly preston , and they have a son named jett
( travolta loves them planes ! ) .
word on the street is that the kid was apparently conceived during a weekend at demi moore and bruce willis ' home .
director simon west 's first film was the jerry bruckheimer produced con air ( 6 . 5/10 ) .
before that , he directed tv commercials including the budweiser ad with the dancing ants .
yippee !
veteran director john frankenheimer ( ronin ( 7 . 5/10 ) , the manchurian candidate ) portrays the character of general sonnenberg in this film .
the imdb reports that when senator robert kennedy was shot at the ambassador hotel in los angeles on june 5 , 1968 , it was his good friend john frankenheimer who had personally driven him there that day .
clarence williams iii , who plays colonel fowler in this film , is known to some from his role as " linc " in the original " mod squad " tv series .
younger folk may remember him as prince 's father in purple rain .
see it on video if you wanna fall asleep packed to the cap with predictability it 's as action - packed as a canadian curling tournament can easily be guessed out by the numbers it is so predictable that even a blind man could see its plot points coming a mile away as much action as my grandparents bedroom nightly best poor man 's michael bay doing his best poor man 's impression of tony scott alas , t'was not to be yawn . save yourself the trouble and go take a crap instead enough already ! a clich ? -ridden formula film a ridiculously placed background relationship