1992 - Rated R - 2 hr 18 min
Director: Rob Reiner
Starring: Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, James Marshall, JT Walsh, Christopher Guest, Matt Craven, JA Preston, Noah Wyle
This is the first time I've watched this movie as an adult. It was a favorite of my parents' so I had definitely seen it as a teen, but never really sat down and absorbed it as an adult. Nor did I realize this is based on a play. The style of the film and the scene structure makes a lot of sense knowing that.
Anyway, this really is a good damn movie. (SPOILER ALERT) It raises one of my favorite questions: Is it okay to sacrifice one to save many? Nicholson's character things it is, Cruise and Moore don't think so. As they dig to get to the bottom of this one, watching the chain of corruption climb higher and higher, this question gets asked many times. The moral gray area is left for us to ponder, while the movie ends almost the only way it can. He could get away with it, I guess, but not up against the unexpected powerhouse of Tom Cruise. Really, who saw Cruise taking out Nicholson? Anywhere else, my money'd be on Jack.
Long story short, it was nice to enjoy this again with the ability to really process what it's trying to say. Some outstanding performances here, but what I really enjoyed most were the questions it raised and asked me to answer for myself.
