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The General's Daughter There is currently 1 review for this movie. Do you wish to add a review for this movie?
A Tale of Two Halves Reviewed by Adam Matthews
Definitely a movie of two halves. The first hour of this Simon West film is an uninteresting mess and leaves you struggling to maintain enthusiasm for a story which appears to heading nowhere. Several totally unnecessary sub-plots just serve to make the film a muddled mess. West's direction is uneven and the viewer is overdosed on a diet of over-the-top American army patriotism. The first half hour could be mistaken for a B-grade Charles Bronson movie, not a good thing for a film dealing with the slightly touchy subject of woman in the military. But somehow the story manages to recapture the viewer as it approaches it's satisfying, if somewhat un-original, conclusion. It is hard to say how the movie accomplishes this, as the over-the-top nature of the first half of the film is still present, but the fact that it manages to, speaks volumes for the strength of the story. John Travolta revels as a tough-as-nails army investigator, out to solve the apparent rape and murder of the daughter of a high profile army general. Travolta fits perfectly into the role and plays it with typical bravado. Add in strong supporting cast and you go a long way towards seeing how this movie manages to stave off embarrassment. With a different director, this film may have been a major hit. Be warned, there is a rape scene that is shown in detail. Why the rape had to be shown is unclear. It is an key part of the plot, but surely the rape could have been merely referred to instead of shown. There is nothing more disturbing or unsettling than a rape scene and showing the rape adds nothing to this film. If anything the film loses some of its' appeal because of it. The General's Daughter is a solid drama. With a little more "tweaking" to the script and a director with a little more sensitivity and skill, it could have been much better. Instead, what we get is a movie which, whilst interesting, is nothing that we haven't seen before. Rating: **½
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