Soldiers have been fighting since time immemorial. Equally long has been their history of military conduct in the field. Among the stories of men in combat is, at some point the established proper rules of behavior. As a result, a nation's flag becomes a symbol of the soldier's code of conduct. Too many men have paid the price to disgrace it in our modern era. Among the various branches of service, the U.S. Marine Corps, has created a plethora of heroic memories which exemplify their valiant attributes. Their courage have bequeathed to their country a magnificence unparalleled among the nations. That is the stage for this movie called " Rules of Engagement. " A decorated Marine Col. Hayes Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones) has retired after an illustrious career and now seeks peace and quiet for his retiring years. Unfortunately, a fellow Marine, one Col. Terry Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) has been ordered to rescue an American Ambassador (Ben Kingsley) from a besieged embassy in Yemen which is under hostile and armed mob attack. When his men come under direct fire from snipers and an armed crowd, some his men are killed. Without hesitation Childres orders return fire and eighty civilians are killed. When he returns to the U.S. Childers is arrested on charges of murder. Now Maj. Mark Biggs (Guy Pearce) is ordered by the National Security Adviser (Bruce Greenwood) to make an example of what he called a maniacal murdering marine with a hair trigger. If convicted, Childers faces a harsh 15 years in prison or execution. The courtroom drama is superior as is the gathered cast. An excellent film which gives due credit to our Servicemen and establishes the foundation of a military Classic. ****

During the Vietnam War, Marine Terry Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) executes a prisoner to intimidate a North Vietnamese officer into calling off an attack on his unit and thereby saving the life of Hays Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones). Years later, Hodges is retired and Childers leads a group of Marines sent to relief the embassy in Yemen. Ambassador Mourain (Ben Kingsley) is begging to evacuate and Childers loses 3 men. He orders return fire and 83 civilians are killed. National Security Adviser Bill Sokal (Bruce Greenwood) is angry and intends to make Childers the scapegoat. Childers faces court martial and he asks Hodges to defend him. Maj. Mark Biggs (Guy Pearce) prosecutes.

The first thing director William Friedkin has to decide is whether we root for Childers or not. Every step forward is followed by a step backwards. He's working at cross purposes with himself. The action scenes at the embassy are terrific. Friedkin is still at his best doing action. However he should hold those scenes for later in the movie. That way the movie can play with his guilt and innocence. Also the movie skimps on the CSI aspects. It's really questionable how everybody just skips over the snipers across the way. There were snipers but nobody cares. Also Greenwood is basically a cartoon villain. The politics is simplified to a ridiculous amount. The whole thing feels manufactured and not well done. Then the closing credits force a happy ending wrapped up in a nice little bow. That's almost as ridiculous as everything else.

This story gets the viewer involved with it right away never lets up, with good performances all around, although Tommy Lee Jones stands out a bit above the rest.

There are some outstanding action scenes in the first 30 minutes and if you have a 5.1surround system, it gets quite a workout. After that, the story settles down into a court battle.

Its politics are typical Hollywood: the government is corrupt with the main villain the National Security Adviser who burns a video tape that would clear a U.S. Marine colonel from being framed for murder. That colonel also is a black man which makes the story even more politically correct. Samuel J. Jackson plays that role, a Col. "Terrry Childers." Jones plays his attorney, "Col. Hayes Hodges." The two veteran actors play off each other very well.

It gets even more dramatic when two other witnesses lie and make justice look almost impossible to attain in the case. But, dramatics aside, it's a good story and certainly an entertaining one. Once again, William Friedkin has directed a good movie.