Rules of Engagement poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Guy Pearce, Bruce Greenwood, Blair Underwood ... see more see more... , Philip Baker Hall , Anne Archer , Ben Kingsley , Mark Feuerstein , Dale Dye , Kim Delaney , Ryan Hurst

In this drama, two U.S. Marines who stood side by side on the field of battle are reunited in a court of law. Attorney Hayes Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones) once aspired to a career as an officer, but a seri... read more read more...ous injury in Vietnam put an end to his military future, leaving him bitter and resentful. Col. Terry L. Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) fought alongside Hodges and once saved his life; when Childers is threatened with a court martial for ordering his troops to fire on civilians during a raid on an American embassy, Hodges is the only lawyer that he can trust, and the case gives Hodges a chance for revenge against the military system that he feels has wronged him. Rules of Engagement also features Kim Delaney, Ben Kingsley, Blair Underwood, and Anne Archer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

58% liked it

48,247 ratings

Critics

37% liked it

93 critics

R, 2 hr. 8 min.

Directed by: William Friedkin

Release Date: April 7, 2000

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: October 10, 2000

Get It:

Stats: 927 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Rules of Engagement war Anne Archer Rules of Engagement
Upload a Photo | View All Rules of Engagement Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (927)

  • danperry17
    September 22, 2008
    danperry17
    A mostly enjoyable distraction big on capturing the style of the marines but one that's a little short on plot; in a post-CSI world, I feel like they could have just done the 20-minute forensics and told us where the fire was coming from, and not needed half a movie of trial cove... read morerage to predictably get to the bottom of it. An interesting relic, though, as it is one of the few films that raise the spectre of terrorism originating from the Middle East before 9/11. And this was on TBS (sorry, I guess it's Peachtree now) like two days before the U.S. Embassy in Yemen was bombed last week... that's creepy, right?

    Anyway, Tommy Lee Jones is quite good (as always), Sam Jackson held his own, and while I wouldn't go out of my way to see it, it was at least engaging (haha) enough to watch front to back, no matter how many f-bombs were replaced with "forget".
  • Deano78
    September 6, 2008
    Deano78
    A decent war drama war as a mission is investigated in court to find out what happened.
  • allan913
    April 25, 2008
    allan913
    An intensely gripping, nail-biting and exhilerating military thriller. Compelling, memerising and very exciting. A mixture of strong court room drama and some explosive action. Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson give electrifying performances. These two heavyweights deliver th... read moree greatness, showing us why they are indeed superstars. Abslolutely unforgettable and powerful. A superb and tremendous film. Director, William Friedkin's finest film. A classic. It grabs you and dosent let go for a second.
  • mrbungle7821
    February 23, 2006
    mrbungle7821
    [font=Arial][color=darkred]Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones are old war pals who took seperate paths after a cataclysmic ambush in Vietnam. Jackson went on to a prestigous career in combat but Jones was restricted to desk jobs the rest of his tenure. It appears Arabs are at ... read moretheir old tricks again, being that without Nazis or Communists they are Hollywood's favorite misrepresented bad guys. Jackson gets dispatched to protect a US embassy besieged by protests. During the meelee of confusion Jackson orders fire on the crowds outside. Now he has to face the ramifications which include murder charges and a tangled web of conspriacy.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]Jackson gives an electric performance as the Marine Captain full of sound and fury. Jones and Jackson exhibit great chemistry together under William Friedkin's deft hand. Friedkin, known for classics like 'The Fench Connection' and 'The Exorcist', whose last pic was the Caruso stinker 'Jade', has crafted exciting sequences of action and suspense. The problem is they all happen early and the film undwinds and unspools as it continues.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]Bruce Greenwood seems to be making a career out of beguiling Jones. In last fall's 'Double Jeopardy' he was a slimy not-so-dead hubby, and in 'Rules' he's a slimy National Security advisor. These two look like they'll be the Ben and Matt of the over fourty crowd.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]'Rules of Engagement' is a coutroom action/drama that plays closely to the rules established but coasts on terrfic performances from its leads and some dynamite action sequences. But eventually the weight of the plot drags 'Rules' from the potential it flashed.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: B- [/color][/font]
  • BlueTorch
    June 5, 2006
    BlueTorch
    The buildup to the courtcase required more suspension of disbelief than I was capable of giving. That being said, the rest of the movie was quite good, save the 'Hollywood' ending.
  • qtmemoe
    July 15, 2009
    qtmemoe
    I am generally not a huge fan of the genre. . . But this movie was really good! The acting was great, the plot was very real and engrossing and it ended in a way that I did not expect. Sam Jackson & Tommy Lee Jones have great chemistry as 2 old vietnam war buddies that lead very... read more different lives all by the flipf a coin. Well worth your time.
  • KingofAllBlacks
    February 27, 2011
    KingofAllBlacks
    No words can describe how excellent this movie is, or how prescient it was (it hit the screen in 2000, before the events of Sept. 2001 plunged us into all out war with "terrorism" in places like Yemen, the setting for the events of this movie. Great great piece.
  • BarbaraAnnTheMovieFan
    February 22, 2010
    BarbaraAnnTheMovieFan
    Rules of Engagement is about a very sensitive subject, which is why I suspect it has such low ratings. If you can get past that, I thought the story was really very good. Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Guy Pierce did a great job acting! I feel this is a movie wo... read morerth seeing. It shows some of the not so simple choices soldiers are forced to make, in a time of chaos. Also the possible consequences one might have if they make the wrong decision.

    I've seen a lot of comments comparing this to A Few Good Men, but it's been too long since I've seen that to compare.
  • BASiQ
    January 26, 2010
    BASiQ
    Watched this movie a while back, forgot to rate. It was an over-dramatic movie with quite the lack of plot... Boring.
  • JimG944
    November 6, 2009
    JimG944
    4 of 5 stars for the military drama movie Rules of Engagement. Let's start by saying any movie with Tommy Lee Jones ad Samuel L Jackson is one that I will like, both are among my favorite actors. Our two lead characters fought together during Viet Nam and experienced extreme acti... read moreon. Moving forward in time Jackson's character is still active in the Marines and is picked to do an embassy extraction in the middle east. His mission encounters heavy automatic weapon fire as they touch-down in the embassy compound. Extracting the Ambassador and his family, fire become heavier killing and wounding several Marines. Jackson eventually orders his troops to return fire killing over 80 people outside of the embassy. The key question was, were these people armed and firing upon the embassy? If so, they were combatants; if not they were civilians. The movie shifts to a legal and courtmarshall drama. Jackson asks his old friend Jones to be his attorney.

    A very well made movie. Great action intensely photographed. Solid characters and real drama. This is a long movie but well worth the time to watch. I do recommend it!

View All Rules of Engagement Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jay Carr
January 1, 2000
Jay Carr, Boston Globe

Rules of Engagement never engages us.

Philip Wuntch
January 1, 2000
Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News

Reconfirms the talent of onetime wunderkind director William Friedkin. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
January 1, 2000
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

The two actors are soldiers of hard-headed substance at attention in a field of milder actors at ease. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Rules of Engagement suffers from a serious split personality disorder. Full Review

Mike Clark
January 1, 2000
Mike Clark, USA Today

The sentiments here are thoroughly semper fi, but the result occasionally works at cross-purposes.

Steven Rosen
January 1, 2000
Steven Rosen, Denver Post

Jones and Jackson in uniform absolutely command our respect. Full Review

Elvis Mitchell
January 1, 2000
Elvis Mitchell, New York Times

There is little suspense. Full Review

Steve Murray
January 1, 2000
Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

What distinguishes Rules is its use of xenophobia to bolster its legal arguments, and presumably tap audience's deep-seated prejudices. Full Review

Geoff Pevere
January 1, 2000
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

The casting pays off. Full Review

(CNN.com) Paul Clinton
January 1, 2000
(CNN.com) Paul Clinton, CNN.com

At its best, Rules Of Engagement is merely bad. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • A Few Good Men
    A Few Good Men (88%)
  • Black Hawk Down
    Black Hawk Down (57%)
  • The General's Daughter
    The General's Daughter (100%)
  • Paths of Glory
    Paths of Glory (0%)

More Movies like Rules of Engagement

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Rules of Engageme... : Watch Free on TV

Rules of Engagement Trivia

  • This man has been Under Siege looking for a Fugitive, was Blown Away as Two-Face, learned the Rules Of Engagement to be a U.S Marshall so he could figure out what Double Jeopardy meant, dealth with a Volcano, and was The Man Of The House, who is he?  Answer »
  • In the movie rules of engagement, where did the first mission took place?  Answer »
  • In the movie Rules of engagement, in what year did the mission in vietname took place?  Answer »
  • In the movie rules of engagement what did Samuel L. Jackson as a marine, went back to the embassy for?  Answer »
More Rules of Engagement Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Rules of Engagement to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?