MovieChat Forums > Rules of Engagement (2000) Discussion > just posting my review here to see waht ...

just posting my review here to see waht other people feel about this

posted 22 years ago by erland-3
41 replies | jump to latest

I´ve been visiting IMDB for a long time without reviewing any movies but I cannot be quiet about this film. Any cinematic qualities aside this is one of the worst movies I´ve ever seen because it is so blatantly racist and prejudist. The worst part is, judging from the other reviews, hardly anyone seems to be bothered by this.

The film starts with an evacuation of the American embassy in Yemen under attack by gunmen. This evacuation leads to a massacre on a group of demonstrators consisting of civilian men, women and children. Of course the officer in charge (Sam Jackson) is put on trial for this atrocity. During the course of this trial we revisit the scene of the massacre and each time more details are revealed.

The first time it is revealed that the crowd weren´t just demonstrators, they were working with the gunmen to confuse the Americans. Next time gunmen are in the crowd firing and finally, lo and behold, we are shown that the entire crowd were vicious terrorists, even the sweet little one-legged girl the good-guy lawyer (Tommy Lee Jones) met down in Yemen while investigating the case. And to think I actually pitied that wretched extremist for a while! The officer is freed and all ends well.

Lessons learned from this film:

-All arabs think all Americans should die. This is not for a specific reason it´s just a part of being Muslim (well, maybe because they hate values such as "freedom, tolerance, prosperity religious pluralism and universal suffrage" to quote NYT).

-All Arabs are ready to act on these beliefs by killing americans, even Arab children.

-It is morally correct to kill Arabs for these reasons, all of them.

-Next time you see some liberal sob-story on TV showing crippled children from Afghanistan, look in those kids eyes before feeling sorry. You´ll see a killer in there, just like in any other arab.

I might have expected a film like this after 9/11, but this is actually made before that sad day. Any respect I had for William Friedkin, Samuel L. Jackson, Tommy Lee Jones or anyone involved in this film is gone. That this movie was made and spent two weeks as #1 in the US goes to show the obvious disregard with which that nation treats the issues of the rest world, especially those stemming from culturally different areas.

If you watched this movie without at least reflecting on these issues, watch it again and ask yourself: -Do I really think this is a believable story? Do I really believe five-year old girls attack US Marines with guns? If not, why was this movie made, and made in such realistic way, almost giving the impression it was based on a true story?

[–] viperassasin 21 years ago

If you can't believe a five year old girl would attack a marine with a gun if here parents told her to. Then why didn't some of the children used as suicide bombers by palestinans and the vietnamise during the vietnam war, say no i don't want to be strapped with explosives and go into building blow up and kill myself and people. Or walk into a platoon soldiers and explode. If you cannot fathom children shooting at marines, then i guess you don't believe that they would blow themselves and these marines sky high.
The main part of this movie that so unbelievable is how dumb the nation security advisor throws away a tape that is on a manifest list. The ambasador is dumb enough to commit perjury which lost him his job then just telling the truth about childers state of mind. There was no way that Security advisor Sokel could prove that this incident was the embassadors fault.

[–] 21 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nachtengel88 20 years ago

Drop the Arab thing. I dont hear anyone screaming about Just like Top Gun or any other war movie as a film maker you use the same tatic as the news "flavor of the month". In thirty years when we are battling people from Iceland and Sweden thats what they will put out.
The Israeli Palistine thing, if you look at the history of the region going back all the way to the 1920s the Israelis used military tatics and even formed a territoral military (PALMACH). If the Arabs want to blow themselves and Israelis up fine. The Uzi and the Galil didnt come after the war of indpendance it was before. the Israelis made weapons and ammo out of their homes and practiced military moves in the middle of no where. Are the Arabs fighting back? yes they are so count that up a military action.
The Following statement is true
the previous statement is false
-George Carlin

[–] Medabloga 20 years ago

dude, that is the biggest load of *beep* i have ever read... Jeez, i hate when people do that, state "historical facts" that are redicoulas, the Uzi and the Galil didnt come after the war of independece? haha, youre a funny man

[–] samsan_lee 20 years ago

"If you watched this movie without at least reflecting on these issues, watch it again and ask yourself: -Do I really think this is a believable story? Do I really believe five-year old girls attack US Marines with guns? If not, why was this movie made, and made in such realistic way, almost giving the impression it was based on a true story?"

Cannot agree more. Certain films are made in times to develop a moral center. I think people should follow their conscience. In times of moral uncertainty, fear is a motivator for some acts of violence. I think people feel a right to defend themselves, and the only way how is in desperate, random acts of violence. Friedkin is one of the types who like it "gritty" and edgy, so his films tend to deal with extreme solutions to extreme problems. Note the Hunted theme (again with Tommy Lee Jones) of the hunter going to capture the killer (Del Toro) that he created.

I can't fathom why the film had to be made. To justify wholesale slaughter, and vindication in the face of liberal media bias? I think the Blackhawk down film showed the heroics, but "Three Kings" was a better indicator of the politics behind war as well as the action. For some reason, there's an underlying anger at the media for exposing error at the cost of the military's image.

Military court case films have been popular; A Few Good Men, A Soldier's Story just to name two. It will be interesting if the same fervor for a "real-life" military court film is applied in the Abu ghraib scandal.

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] masteryoda7733 20 years ago

Maybe you should calm down. This kind of thing is what gives people ulcers. Why don't you spend more time getting to know your family or eating too much ice cream and laughing with your friends? Oh yeah, because nobody likes you.

[–] samsan_lee 20 years ago

yeah. ice cream, guantanamo bay, ulcers, human rights...nobody likes you...

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]