I cannot work out why,  but, there is something about this film that won’t allow me to really LOVE it but, whenever it is  on TV, I say to myself “I’ll just watch a bit of it, maybe 20 minutes or so”, and then find myself glued to it right to the end … even though I have seen it many, many times before. Perhaps I feel that is too formulaic or maybe I think that some agents / producers got together and said “Hey guys, lets get some REALLY big stars together with a great supporting cast and make a movie … anybody got an idea for a plot … no … well … let’s do it anyway.”  In fact, the plot is very good (if a somehow familiar Court room “battle”) and it zips along very nicely. The supporting cast are exceptional; Kevin Bacon, Keifer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak and J T Walsh, and the big stars; Tom Cruise,  Demi Moore and Jack are also good. Tom Cruise is the main guy, and heads a team of Armed Service lawyers investigating a death at an army base in Guantanamo bay. His backup law team is Demi Moore and Kevin Pollak. The “bad guy” (we find this out eventually), a Colonel in the Marines, is brilliantly played by Jack Nicholson. It is grossly unfair but Jack (as ever) absolutely steals this picture, and, although he is only in it for about 10 minutes in total, his frightening, vicious portrayal of an under pressure Senior officer is breathtaking. You would NOT want to mess with this guy; “You can’t handle the truth” and “You’ve fucked with the wrong Marine”. I’m suprised that Demi Moore took the role, as her part is one of someone who is a bit “dizzy” and impulsive and doesn’t seem to fit with (what I perceive as) her view of “powerful” women but … Maybe she just wanted to work with Cruise and Nicholson … who wouldn’t and …I bet the pay was good. The Director is the sublime Rob Reiner “When Harry met Sally” and the stupendous “Spinal Tap” and (like a great Alan Parker film), you just don’t notice the direction because the film just flows along and seems so real and seamless (OW-Overused word). Tom Cruise is a fabulous Actor / male lead / star / pinup, and, like in “Rain Man”, you don’t really notice how good he is at holding a film together(because he is so good at it), and is was almost unforgivable that he did not get an Oscar for “Born on the 4th of July”. If you haven’t seen this film then make sure you watch it … “That’s an order”. There is a court room scene, near the end where Jack really rips it up, and he seems so evil that … you might want to hide behind the sofa. In this film, as in most films, Jack Nicholson is fantastic but … that’s another story. OK … I do love this film.