Most critics find A Few Good Men an engaging courtroom drama, with praise concentrated on the performances and Rob Reiner’s controlled direction. Jack Nicholson is the clearest point of agreement: even the negative reviews welcome his forceful presence. The favourable notices also credit Tom Cruise, while Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue earns praise for its sharpness and handling of justice, patriotism and accountability. For its admirers, familiar courtroom machinery still produces compelling entertainment.
The spread is wide, however, and the disagreement concerns more than originality or talkiness. Time Out finds the legal exchanges short on intellectual challenge and Cruise unconvincing in uniform. The New Yorker goes further, arguing that the solemn pacing and contrived moral choices make the film seem more substantial than it is, though it praises Nicholson and Kevin Bacon. What the positive reviews accept as effective dramatic construction, the dissenters see as a way of simplifying difficult questions.