ridiculous rating

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

John Travolta is an actor with a lot of charisma and likability, and here he tries his best, giving a good, solid performance but even he can't save the plotting which is predictable, clichéd and rather ridiculous. The story is as follows, a female commander is murdered, and detective Paul Brenner must find out the culprit within a certain amount of time, as the event will turn into a media circus as soon as the FBI arrive. He is helped by Rape investigator Sara Sunhill played by Madeleine Stowe, she also has personality and possesses some good chemistry with Travolta as well as a sense of humour and gives a well-grounded performance. James Woods play's an Army officer, high in command, James Cromwell play's General Joseph Campbell and Timothy Hutton play's Colonel William Kent to name a few, the picture is well acted for the most part.The direction from Simon West is pretty good and it's well shot, and appropriately set, revolving around an army base, and the best choice was leaving the press out of it, as they would have clogged up the screen. However there is some questionable dialogue and writing, as well as plot inconsistencies and some really silly moments, but for me the main problem that stopped me from actually liking the picture was the twist before the conclusion, which felt tacked on and void of any sense, and the very end is comprised of predictability, as I saw a certain person's involvement within the murder about half way through, knowing he was guilty by his mannerism's. Overall The General's Daughter is well paced, and competently acted but it suffers from questionable flaws in logic, too many clichés and a ridiculous plot twist that's simply disappointing and senseless.

THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER is an earnest mystery thriller set in a US army base. The whodunit aspect of the storyline brought to mind some of the Columbo episodes that had similar military themes although this is much more adult fare with some very dark subject matter. The film looks at the top of sexism in the army, taken to the extreme in the vicious gang rape and murder of a young woman by her peers.It's certainly a hard-hitting topic and one we see in the headlines all too often, and thus THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER has a worthy feel to it. However, the main problem the film suffers from is the flashy '90s feel which gives it a dated vibe that you wouldn't find in a similar movie made in the '80s or even '90s. CON AIR director Simon West is a poor choice for director; they should have found someone who could make a more gritty and realistic movie. The shoehorned, Hollywood-style action feels ridiculous although Travolta is solid enough and the likes of James Woods and James Cromwell get to do their bit in the acting stakes.

Popular Lt. Gen. Joseph "Fighting Joe" Campbell (James Cromwell) announces his retirement and is expected to be the next VP pick. Warr. Off. Paul Brenner (John Travolta) flirts with his daughter Capt. Elizabeth Campbell (Leslie Stefanson). U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command agent Brenner goes undercover to take down illegal arms trade on the base. When Elizabeth is found striped and killed, Brenner is assigned the case with his ex agent Sara Sunhill (Madeleine Stowe). Col. William Kent (Timothy Hutton) leads the base MPs. They have 36 hours before the FBI sends in a task force. The investigation uncovers Elizabeth's hidden sex dungeon and her commander in psy ops Col. Robert Moore (James Woods) becomes the main suspect.This thriller is overloaded with hard-boiled performances and sleazy sexuality. There is so much manly posing that Travolta gets to be off-putting. He doesn't need to be the brash overconfident investigator. He is better as a normal human being so that this over-the-top story can actually effect him emotionally. Every performance, every twist, and every turn seem to be raised up to an eleven.

As a former soldier, MP and CID Investigator, I cringed throughout this film at all of the inaccuracies in terminology, procedure, protocol, language, etc. The premise was great but the author of the novel and the screenwriter should have consulted an expert before they attempted to tackle such a complex world. Among the issues I can remember from the 30 minutes I was able to watch: 1. An Army installation is called a "post", not a "base". The Post Commander would never make the mistake of calling it a base. 2. A CID Agent in the field would never be unarmed as Stowe's character is. 3. A CID Agent would never reveal their rank when introducing themselves to someone. 4. The installation in the film was extremely small yet had dozens of CID Agents. A post this small may have 1-2 at most. Many have none. 5. A local Police Chief would never come on post and confront a CID Agent about his case. 6. A Colonel in the MP Corps acts as a Battalion Commander and does not conduct patrols or guard duty. 7. A 1st Lieutenant would never be on a guard post alone, if ever. 8. Travolta's character is much too young to have served in Vietnam. 9. JAG attorneys aren't available to be retained by clients. They are assigned.