A Few Good Men is a 1992 American film revolving around the court-martial of two U.S. Marines charged with the murder of a fellow Marine and the tribulations of their lawyers as they prepare a case to defend their clients. During the court case there are many set backs and questions of whether the men were simply following orders and in which case should they still be responsible. The martial they supposedly murdered, Santiago, was judged as almost less than his fellow marines and had even had requested a transfer to another base. Colonel Nathan Jessup regards the transfer as almost equivalent to surrender and demands Santiago’s commanding officer to train him to be a better Marine. Dawson and Downey are the two Marine’s accused of murdering Santiago and while Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway immediately expects that they were simply carrying out a “code red” order (a command to carry out a violent extrajudicial punishment) that went completely wrong. Unfortunately the case is instead given to Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee who has a tendency to plea bargain (something that Galloway resents). After the bargain negotiated is denied by Dawson and Downey, the case finally goes to trail where Kaffee calls Jessup to the stand. As the questioning goes on a Jessup begins to get more and more flustered, he finally reveals that he did in fact issue a “code red” order on Santiago. Jessup is then arrested for the murder while Dawson and Downey are cleared of the charge. The two Marines, however, are still found guilty of “conduct unbecoming a United States Marine” and are dishonorably discharged.

This movie touches on many topics that are often connected to the military. These include the morality of simply following orders as well as problems that arise when the military considers itself “better” than the population it serves. In this case, though the men in question are technically the ones who committed the murder, they are found innocent because they were simply following orders. When the military thinks that they are better than the population it serves they may also come to believe that they are above the law that governs that population as well. Originally Jessup believed that he would be able to outsmart the defense and be able to pass the blame off onto the other men because he is higher in rank than them. From the beginning of his testimony, he attempted to make it seem as though he was simply looking out for the well-being of Santiago when in reality, Santiago’s death was his fault. On the other hand, the two Marines pretty much got away with murder, but I suppose that was made right by their dishonorable discharge. Nothing good can come out of a military in which there are people-especially high ranking officers- that believe that they are better than the population they serve.

A Few Good Men (1992). Perf. Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore. Castle Rock Entertainment/Columbia Pictures, 1992. Film.

“A Few Good Men.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Few_Good_Men>.