In my last review of White Squall I stated that a lead performance can rise above any other element of the film but in the case of G.I. Jane the opposite is true, it doesn’t so much rise above those but rather sink beneath them instead. The story goes that a test program has been set up by Senator DeHaven to call the Navy out for gender inequality within their own set-up and has devised a way to recruit a female candidate to rise through the Navy Seals basic training and prove them otherwise. Demi Moore’s Lieutenant Jordan O’Neil has been selected for the task and sees it as her duty to undertake it and trump those that stand in her way, even against a doubting all-male group of recruits and the powers that be who see her as a threat to be controlled.
This film certainly has honourable intentions with its statement of gender inequality in the world, even today it’s still a troubling issue and needs to be addressed, not just in military circles. The message in the film is clear and present and so for that it needs to be cherished but I just wish as a whole, the film was strong enough to stand aside with its message. The training sequences are suitably raw and you do feel like you are being dragged through the mud with O’Neil and the rest of them, it almost has a Full-Metal-Jacket-style-of-bravado and intensity that makes it very thrilling to watch and also unnerving. Viggo Mortensen’s performance as the drill commander is good although the script does require him to border on from genuine leader to cartoony villain during some hard-hitting training scenes and whilst on that subject, Demi Moore just doesn’t convince in the lead role.
I’m sure that she and the rest of the cast went through really tough training for the roles required of them and it does show, but as a recruit suffering through the worst of sexist behaviour, alongside such tough training rituals, she only comes across as mildly annoyed or just plain narked and I just wish that perhaps a more stronger actor – or even with better direction – could provide us with a fully realised character. The film does have issues with narrative as well and there are times when the film feels like cut and paste when going through the proceedings. When we are not watching the brutal training take place, the film will come back to dark meetings of sinister politicians and leaders discussing O’Neil’s place in the military and this goes back and forth a handful times to the point that I wish the plot would advance further.
Even when a particular twist occurs later in the third act, this feels immediately set aside for a mission involving missing plutonium. It feels like the script is trying to cram a fair few plotlines in and I think a script polish could have improved it all somewhat. This film is by no means boring and Scott has proved time and time again that he can stage great action set pieces and create legitimate character drama. If the film had a better script and perhaps a lead actor that could give the role more depth and lasting power, it would be a less than flawed film. The film is far from perfect but I think it has watchable value for certain action scenes and a true message of heroism fighting the system, which is clear and well done here; it’s good.
3/5
Filmlife 