The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

As a fan of Humphrey Bogart's portrayal of Captain Queeg in the 1954 version of "The Caine Mutiny", I approached this movie with some measure of trepidation. That being said, it is an engaging portrayal of a military court-martial, that benefits from lack of flashbacks to incidents that occurred on the ship.

If you are expecting a clone of "A Few Good Men" you will be disappointed. However this is a story of the trial as a stand-alone event, that benefits from a solid ensemble cast. The late Lance Reddick in one of his last roles, was particularly memorable as the chief justice, and Kiefer Sutherland deftly navigates both Queeg's power and vulnerability on the stand.

I strongly, I strongly encourage you to mute the movie at the start of the credits to maintain the tension of the final scene, and I encourage you to see both this and the 1954 version of this story.

The original novel and movie took place during WWII. The play now takes place during the Gulf War, but it doesn't lend itself to modernization. Kiefer Sutherland does a credible job as Captain Queeg, but lacks the depth that Humphrey Bogart gave to the character in the original movie. Jake Lacy, however is a bit shallow in his characterization of Lt. Maryk. I liked the acting by Jason Clarke as Barney Greenwald, but the gray hair on a fairly young Navy Lieutenant was a bit too much. I also thought Monica Raymond's portrayal of the JAG prosecutor was over the top. Yes, prosecutors have to be zealous in their duties, but...

Quartermaster 3rd Class Urban's character was clearly miscast. First, while it's not unusual for a 20-year-old to be an E-4, it would be virtually impossible for a sailor of his age to have been in the Navy for four years.

Now, to the makeup of the officers on the board. As far as I can remember, flag officers do not serve on courts martial boards for decidedly junior officers. Dale Dye's portrayal of an "Admiral Dewey" was not only farcical, but his uniform decorations were way over the top. There were also several incidents where Navy uniforms were not worn properly, although I can imagine that the short shooting schedule was a major cause of continuity errors.

Navy courts martial don't have Chief/Senior Chief Petty Officers as court MP's. Those duties are handled by U. S. Marines, especially at larger Naval facilities.

In all, the entire play would have been much better had more time been taken to "get it right".

Final films by William Friedkin and Lance Reddick RIP.

This is a single setting courtroom court martial hearing that expands on the legal themes of the original from the fifties.

The original showed the various incidents of Queeg and then the trial. This is just the trial and aftermath.

Everything is a lot more fleshed out. Jason Clarke is great as the prosecutor and Keifer Sutherland does a passable Borgart homage.

I watched it as a companion piece to the original and would recommend doing it that way.

I always find the ending, where the solicitor speaks to the officers party a wonderful scene. Watch it for that at least.

I love the echoey, stark sound of the set....masterful. It shows how these things actually are on occasion. As a former military officer who sat on two courts martial, one was held in a small office, one was held in an actual courtroom that echoed eerily like this set.

It was refreshingly taut, and my gut was taut as well during the entire production.....bravo on that point. When these types of proceedings occur, people's lives are irretrievably altered...whether for good or ill.

And the lack of music was awesome! Real life has no soundtrack......

I thought the lighting was accurate, and the whole atmosphere felt like something large was going to happen....whether that was going to be good...or bad....we don't know....

As a lawyer, I was pleased that the objections and decisions by the court were pretty accurate.

Final verdict? We could all benefit from more productions in this sphere...well done.

Having recently watched the original Caine Mutiny, I was excited to see how such a strong cast and director could retell the story for a modern audience.

Right out of the gate, the pace of the movie was off. Cut scene to each witness, no time spend on any transition between them.

Then there's the scene with Lt Keefer. The original movie provided a clear understanding of his motives. In this one the Keefer and Maryk dynamic during the trial is not explored. No dots connected for the viewer, just a simple glazed over opportunity to develop the story.

The final scene left me puzzled. The message it sends is diminished from the takeaway of the original. Moral courage and fortitude are nowhere to be found. Maryk is made to be a one dimensional buffoon.

9/10 for the actors, 4/10 for the message and muddled delivery.