This
new military thriller from director Simon West (Con Air) fails on just about every
level. Surprisingly, the usually dependable John Travolta is one of the films
weak links.
Travolta
plays Paul Brenner, an army investigator who is assigned the unpleasant duty of
examining the circumstances that surround the death of the general's daughter.
To make matters worse, he's partnered with ex-flame and rape-specialist Sarah
Sunhill, played by Madeline Stowe in a pointless role, tacked on to add some extra
tension that never really surfaced.
The
General's Daughter is a half-baked mystery that's pretty easy to solve. It's also
quite ugly for a summer film and takes many disheartening and unrealistic pot-shots
at the military. As in last years A Civil Action, Travolta seems all wrong for
this film. He tries to be a hero like Harrison Ford's in the Tom Clancy films,
but can't seem to transcend the material he's working from.
However,
the film does get a minimal boost from spectacular performances from James Cromwell
as the General, Clarence Williams III as his Chief of Staff, and the always great
James Woods as the main suspect in the case--but it doesnÕt add up to much.
It's almost as if director Simon West didn't want to be reduced to making Bruckheimer
action films, so he tried to make a character study. Ironically, Con Air, in all
its gratuitous glory, had more character.
I'm
all for dark subject matter--Seven, The Silence of the Lambs, and Kalifornia are
all terrific films. This film is just dark and brooding in a way that doesn't
draw the audience in.
