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G. I. JANE

1/2

Jack Choo

Directed by : Ridley Scott
Starring : Demi Moore (Lt.Jordan O'Neil)
Viggo Mortenson (Master Chief John Urgayle)
Anne Bancroft (Senator Lilian DeHaven)
Running Time : 2hrs 10mins
Rating : **1/2 out of *****
 [ Demi Moore in military garb ] Back from a couple of commercially and critically failed projects (WHITE SQUALL, 1492) in recent years, maestro director Ridley Scott gets his hands dirty this time with sweat, guns, mud and women.

Demi Moore, possibly the most expensive actress money can hire nowadays, plays Lt. Jordan O'Neil -- a military specialist involved in deployment of special operatives in covert operations. Early in the movie, her talents become apparent to the audience as she successfully turns a doomed mission around. a success. Meanwhile, back in the capital, Senator Lilian DeHaven (Anne Bancroft) takes a shot at the US military by fanning fire over the issue of women not being allowed to participate in certain sections of the US military force. To prove her point that women can also perform up to par with their male counterparts, she chooses O'Neil to join in her crusade. O'Neil is selected to undergo the intensive and gruesome US SEALs training, the most highly skilled military members of the US Armed Forces.

 [ Demi Moore, shaving her head. ] Moore looks totally out of place in the male-dominated training programme, but coolly keep herself composed and strong during the first few days. As we soon discover, the training is not the only thing that O'Neil will have to go through. Other problems include taunts from her male counterparts, the military's interests in makng her quit ASAP, the sadistic training conductor Master Chief Urgayle (Viggo Mortenson) and an unfolding scandal involving the Senator herself. Despite all these obstacles, her sheer determination and wit allows her to shine among her training-mates, winning their approval and most of all, their respect. When all seems just well, military officials who have been on her back since she started training jumps on the opportunity of getting her expelled after gaining possession of photographs of one of her outing with her female friends, on the account that she is a lesbian. O'Neil then discovers that the Senator's ambition is not as noble as it seems. Threatening to blow the lid of the whole operation, she manages to force the senator to put her back into training. Needless to to say, as if it was not expected of any Hollywood fare, she completes her training with flying colours and even was able to save her mates in a real mission while at it.

 [ Demi, lookin' stoned. ] Demi Moore fits the role of O'Neil perfectly with her husky voice, confident presence and surprisingly fit physique. She definitely beefed up for this movie and the film actually dedicated a couple of minutes to workout scenes, which were a bit too long and overdramatic for me actually. While those scenes showed her determination and strength, I can't help but imagine that I was watching one of those late-night ads advertising some tummy-toning machine. Viggo Mortenson's potrayal of Master Chief Urgayle is worth mentioning here. He performs well in all those tight close-up scenes. G.I.JANE has quite a good story going for it but in a way, it does not stand out because of the method the screenwriters went about to present in through film, which really does smell like something out of the TOP GUN factory. Ridley Scott's work does not show in any way either. After giving us gems like BLADE RUNNER, ALIEN and BLACK RAIN, G.I.JANE passes off as any other typical Hollywood fare, trying too hard at times. Still, G.I.JANE is not too bad watch, it should be able to pass of as a semi-action, semi-drama film.

The Flying Inkpot's Rating System

* Wait for the TV2 broadcast.
** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha!
*** Pretty good, bring a friend.
**** Amazing, potent stuff.
***** Perfection. See it twice.

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Readers' Comments


From: Wayne ()

Just thought I'd point out a possible reason for GI JANE looking a little TOP GUN-ish. Well director of TOP GUN, Tony Scott (who also gave us CRIMSON TIDE and DAYS OF THUNDER) is guess what? Ridley Scott's brother... well I thought it was a stupid crack anyway.

From: Abby ()

sorry about that. Just wanted to say that Urgayle was not particularly any more sadistic than anybody else in this training environment. A lot of questions were raised: How do you train people to undergo ultimate cruelties? How does a woman fit into this picture? I thought it was a great flick, but did have certain monotonous visuals. Good Review, Mr. Choo.

From: ()

Please let's have some respect for the English language. I lost count of the errors I found on this article. If it is a translation and someone charged you money for doing it they've taken you for a ride. Otherwise, I really enjoy the film reviews, something I cannot say about this particular film.

From: Rachel (METACC@worldnet.att.net)

G.I. Jane is a great movie. Yes, it could have been done better, and yes, it was a little Top-Gun-ish, but it is the first of its kind... This is the type of movie that makes people get up and say "I want to be part of the Navy Seals!" Ok, so maybe thats far fetched, but having that woman completing a life goal of expressing her US Glory by conquering the hell week alone puts my view of Military women in a different perspective. I am a Woman who is fighting for Woman Rights.

From: Skitsofreak ()


From: Skitsofreak (HopeandPrayer)

I think this movie is alright. I love the sadistic way Mortenson plays the part of John Urgayle, though. As for Demi, she could have done better than actually making the training seem as though it were a trivial task. She really must be supergirl.