The General's Daughter

Starring: John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton, James Woods, Leslie Stefanson, Daniel von Bargen, Clarence Williams III, John Beasley
Directed by: Simon West
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A military detective (John Travolta) investigates the murder of the daughter (Leslie Stefanson) of a famous general (James Cromwell).

Review:

Tim: Simon West's The General's Daughter certainly does a number of things well as it tells its story of crime on a military base. There were elements of this movie that I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, the film as a whole feels a bit too redundant, as it follows too closely where many others films have gone before. There is simply not enough here to separate the movie and allow it to stand on its own. I enjoy crime thrillers set in the military world, but when I think about those kinds of movies, this film will never stand out to me.

The best thing this film has going for it is the central mystery- who killed the General's daughter? We are certainly provided a number of potential killers, and the movie does a fairly good job of keeping us guessing until the very end (as long as you don't think too deeply about who it could be). It helps that the characters are interesting and that West keeps the story going, for the most part. However, eventually, the plot becomes a bit too predictable and tired.

I actually did enjoy John Travolta in the lead role. While Paul Brenner is not one of his most memorable characters, he brings a lot of energy to the role and it's fun seeing him interact with the other characters. Brenner is intelligent and cocky, and Travolta hits all the right notes playing him. I was hoping they would make more movies with Travolta as Brenner, but that has not happened yet. He has a good partner in Madeleine Stowe. I've always liked Stowe, and it was fun seeing her here. I would not claim she gave a great performance, but she works decently well with Travolta.

The other supporting players are pretty good. James Cromwell is always fun to watch, and he was believable as the titular general. He brings seriousness to the part, and was very well cast. I always like see Timothy Hutton get work, although he was only decent here. James Woods is another actor I always enjoy. Woods and Travolta had some truly great moments together and it was genuinely fun watching these two actors interact. I love their attempts to outsmart each other- that was fun to watch. I wish Woods had more screen time. I also thought Leslie Stefanson did a decent job as the General's daughter. All in all, the cast is quite enjoyable.

Now, while the story does keep you guessing, it never really engages you on any kind of deeper level. I suppose I was interested in seeing what really happened, but I never felt that strong pull towards the resolution. The plot does become a bit complicated, and it could have been explained more effectively throughout the movie. By the time all the cards are revealed, it feels like a bit of a letdown. As I have not read the novel, I'm only speculating, but I assume the novel did a better job of explaining the events. This is a movie that feels like something was lost in the adaptation from the page to the screen.

One of the biggest struggles this film faces is the question of why. Why should the audience care about anything happening on screen? The characters are interesting, but we never really identify with any of them closely. There's no emotional punch to any of the events of the film, other than the usual feelings when someone is murdered, especially in an unpleasant, gruesome manner. The film and the story feel far too generic. I can think of many, many other military crime movies that told their stories far better than The General's Daughter.

As such, this isn't a bad movie, but I certainly would not call it a very good one, either. It is a decent attempt that fell short of its mark. While Travolta is good and the supporting cast is impressive, something about the movie was just a bit off and thus, the film did not reach its ultimate potential. I generally like these kinds of movies, but I felt far too much ambivalence while watching this movie. I wish more Paul Brenner movies would get made, because perhaps in a future film, they could really get it right.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Basic, A Few Good Men, A Soldier's Story