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Review

In the passable but stuffy Rules of Engagement, military stratagem meets courtroom drama. Supposedly in the tradition of A Few Good Men, but lacking that film's structured screenplay and taut direction, Friedkin's well-acted, busy melodrama is ultimately at cross-purposes: It wants to be a kick-ass combat film and a hard-edged examination of military bureaucracy. In doing so, it's chomped off more than it can chew. Jackson plays a Marine colonel who is put on trial after his troops kill civilians in an embassy evacuation in Yemen. Jones is a military lawyer and old friend who defends him. The government needs a scapegoat; Jones needs to prove he's still viable; Jackson wants to expose the hypocrisy. Gutsy performances by Jones, Jackson and Pearce, as the prosecuting attorney, help sustain interest, but flat supporting characterizations and somewhat contrived plot developments work against it.