Rules of Engagement

Directed by William Friedkin, Rules of Engagement details the court martial that ensues after a marine colonel (Samuel L. Jackson’s Terry Childers) orders his men to open fire on dozens of Yemeni protestors. (Tommy Lee Jones plays Terry’s long-time friend and eventual attorney, while Guy Pearce takes on the role of ambitious opposing counsel.) Filmmaker Friedkin, working from Stephen Gaghan’s screenplay, delivers an often exceedingly deliberate drama that does, at a running time of just over two hours, feel substantially longer than necessary, with the picture’s palpably padded-out atmosphere, which is especially noticeable within the far-from-enthralling first half, essentially (and effectively) preventing it from becoming the thrilling, engrossing endeavor one might’ve anticipated. It’s clear, then, that Rules of Engagement benefits substantially from a peppering of admittedly compelling sequences and the efforts of a uniformly impressive roster of performers, with, in terms of the latter, Jackson and Jones’ predictably top-notch efforts matched by such top-tier periphery players as Ben Kingsley, Philip Baker Hall, and Blair Underwood. (Bruce Greenwood’s solid work as a smarmy government official remains a continuing highlight, as well.) The comparatively enthralling climactic stretch, buoyed by an appreciatively larger-than-life courtroom confrontation, ensures that Rules of Engagement finishes on an appreciatively memorable note, with the end result a hit-and-miss piece of work that probably could’ve used a little tightening within its flabby midsection.

**1/2 out of ****