by-the-numbers : a film which introduces characters , situations , dilemmas and developments that we've seen before in a parade of other films . a film which can easily be guessed out by the end of frame number one . a film which is packed to the cap with predictability , leading to very little tension , excitement , suspense or interest on the part of its paying audience . in short , a clich ? -ridden formula film . welcome to my review of the general's daughter . plot : an undercover army detective and a rape counselor find themselves locked inside an investigation into some bigwig general daughter's rape , torture and murder . they must delve through all of the unspoken army rules and the hush-hushes , to figure out the conspiracy behind the shocking murder . critique : by the numbers ( see above ) . this film is just there . it sits there on the big screen for a couple of hours , floats around , goes away , hopefully never to be heard from again . it is so predictable that even a blind man could see its plot points coming a mile away . it's as suspenseful as a leaf dropping from a tree . it's as action-packed as a canadian curling tournament . get the picture ? i sure did . . . it's too bad that it took my friend and i less than two minutes to figure out the entire plot , and to break down each scene before it was even completed . easy as pie . it's unfortunate because james woods and john travolta actually have one extremely enjoyable scene together near the beginning of the film , but alas , t'was not to be ( that scene alone scored two of my four points allotted . ) woods chews it up in the few scenes that he's in , travolta passes the test , cromwell plays , well , cromwell , and stowe is window dressing with a smile ( mia since 12 monkeys ( 8/10 ) it seems ) . and this predictability isn't reserved only to those who have seen films like courage under fire or a few good men , it runs deep inside every one of us who knows to suspect someone as soon as they see their obvious guilty mug on the big screen . it's like riding a bike . other scenarios which sponge out any tension , suspense or interest from this film include every single character eventually " breaking down " to the investigators without much reason given , a ridiculously placed background relationship between two of the lead characters , as much action as my grandparents bedroom nightly , and a directorial style that can only reward director simon west with a solid nomination for the " best poor man's michael bay doing his best poor man's impression of tony scott " ( add two scenes with sunlight shining through some half-open shades for grit and integrity , and an all-out rainfall for the finale for further chaos , and you're a great director . yawn . yeah , whatever tony . . . i mean , simon . ) and aren't we all sick of hearing about these army " bad boys " and their overdone " code of silence " ? ! enough already ! next subject , please . see it on video if you wanna fall asleep after seeing a much better movie like an officer and a gentleman ( 8 . 5/10 ) . otherwise , save yourself the trouble and go take a crap instead . you'll feel much better afterwards . trust me . little known facts about this film and its stars : ironically , john travolta turned down the lead role in an officer and a gentleman , which eventually went to little dickie gere . ironically on james woods' part , he completed one of his earliest acting roles on tv's " welcome back , kotter " , starring none other than john travolta . actor james woods recently confirmed reports of his " big dick " on howard stern's radio program . unlike rocker tommy lee , woods is also alleged to have an iq of 180 . he apparently scored a perfect 800 on his verbal sats and a 779 on the math section . what a man ! john travolta is married to actress kelly preston , and they have a son named jett ( travolta loves them planes ! ) . word on the street is that the kid was apparently conceived during a weekend at demi moore and bruce willis' home . director simon west's first film was the jerry bruckheimer produced con air ( 6 . 5/10 ) . before that , he directed tv commercials including the budweiser ad with the dancing ants . yippee ! veteran director john frankenheimer ( ronin ( 7 . 5/10 ) , the manchurian candidate ) portrays the character of general sonnenberg in this film . the imdb reports that when senator robert kennedy was shot at the ambassador hotel in los angeles on june 5 , 1968 , it was his good friend john frankenheimer who had personally driven him there that day . clarence williams iii , who plays colonel fowler in this film , is known to some from his role as " linc " in the original " mod squad " tv series . younger folk may remember him as prince's father in purple rain .
