A few good men....

There were a ton of conflicts as the movie progressed. It began with simple conflicts such as the tensions between Cruise and Moore. The whole first half of the movie they did not get along and did not like each other. Cruise was just there because he had to be and really didn’t care about the people involved but more getting the best deal out of the situation. This drove Moore’s character up the wall since she had a genuine concern for the two men. But once he realized there may be more to the story he came around and so did the relationship between the two. There was also minimal conflict but still conflict enough between Kevin Bacon and Cruise with them being friends but opposing lawyers. Small negotiations take place and ultimately they showdown is what was proven to be Cruise’s best court performance. My favorite conflict lies with anyone dealing with Jack Nicholson’s character. He plays a great role of the tough cornel attempting to perform a cover-up. The conflict begins between both Cruise and Moore when they have their first conversation with Nicholson’s character which is one of my favorite scenes. But the true conflict in this movie lies within the court case itself. There were multiple issues with retrieving the truth behind the stories and collecting the evidence. There were conflicts with witness’s, evidence, the defendants themselves, and victims involved in the case. All of which Cruise and Moore embrace and move on to find the truth and to set two innocent men free.

The conflicts are absolutely realistic in every way. I would not be surprised if this were based of a true story since it is that believable. All characters had true reasoning to hide or find the truth behind the case. It wasn’t so much that Nicholson was the bad guy; he more just did things his own way. The way he thought was necessary to survive in their conditions.

I think most all conflicts were handled well on both ends but Nicholson’s character left a few holes for Cruise to crawl though. He was also vulnerable (which Cruise points out) about Nicholson wanting to tell the truth. He should have had more reserve and maybe would have never received the blame.

I think the most noticeable character that used good negotiation skills was Cruise. A really great scene was when he was playing softball while negotiating a deal for a minor case he was handling. He talked the guy down with grace but strength. He was so confident that he made a deal while never putting down the bat. He knew everything he had to and negotiated a lesser punishment. It really was a great movie that kept me hooked. I enjoyed watching Cruise’s character handle his business. Plus Nicholson had an awesome role that was fun to watch the classic court scene. “I want the truth!” “You cant handle the truth!!” Fun movie.