6/21/99
The General's Daughter stars John Travolta as Paul Brenner, Madeleine Stowe as , James Cromwell as General Campbell, Timothy Hutton as Colonel Kent, Leslie Stefanson as Elisabeth Campbell, Daniel von Bargen as Chief Yardley, Clarence Williams III as Colonel Fowler, and James Woods as Colonel Moore.
The General's Daughter starts out with an undercover sting operation headed by John Travolta. The sting is for weapons that are being sold to terrorists. The terrorist catches on and tries to eliminate Brenner. A lot of action ensues that takes us to the ultimate phone call and crime scene.
The General's Daughter is a standard who done it? with a lot of suspects and tail chasing. To complicate the matter the crime takes place on a military base. The crime? The death of the General's daughter in a bizarre nude strangulation. The plot keeps you guessing for a while then gets very thin towards the final moments of the film. The film is very reminiscent of other military mysteries like A Soldiers Story or A Few Good Men, the latter were better. It is also filled with cliches such as: The Right way, the wrong way, and the Army way.
The General's Daughter is well acted. Travolta and Madeleine Stowe portray two military investigators that have had a past. The tension between them never builds much but persists during the first part of their investigation. It then is non-existent at the end of the film. The supporting cast are all professional. It is good to see Clarence Williams III (Original TV Mod Squad member, Linc) as Colonel Fowler the general's aide. He gives a good performance through various levels of emotion.
I give it 3 out of 5 outboards: