Review by Senh Duong
ROTTEN TOMATOES
I know what you’re thinking. You have John Travolta. It’s summer. You also have Simon West, the director of Con Air. And then you have the action-packed, tension filled trailer. If you’re thinking Face Off meets Con Air, you’re gonna be disappointed. There’s not much action here. The result is an action movie without the action – imagine Con Air with all of the action scenes stripped away.
The General’s Daughter starts with the rape and murder of the daughter (Leslie Stefanson) of a high ranking general (James Cromwell). John Travolta stars as Paul Brenner, a tough, joke-cracking, smart-alecky detective assigned to the case. Madeleine Stowe plays Sarah Sunderland, a rape specialist assigned to assist Brenner with the case.
The movie is well-crafted. It looks great – it has all the slick, crisp, picturesque look characteristic of Jerry Bruckheimer movies. Like an action movie, there are lots of low angle shots, slow-mos of our hero looking cool in sunglasses, and plenty of over-acting. In general, I think over-acting works in action movies, but The General’s Daughter is not an action movie. It’s more of a drama.
The only action scene in the movie occurred at the beginning when Travolta was being hunted down by an assassin. It was great, but it was really just throw in there. The pacing is good. I was never bored. However, some of the plot points are just not very believable. As a result, the movie takes on a hokey feel with all the overacting, wrong shooting style, and unbelievable plot points.
The General’s Daughter is very similar to Courage Under Fire with Meg Ryan and Denzel Washington. Both movies explore the subject of women in the army. The difference is that I believed that the instances in Courage Under Fire could happen because the story is strong and the characters are believable. The General’s Daughter just seems like fluff.
