Poster © Columbia Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreDrama & Thriller
RatedR
Runtime2 hr 18 mins
ReleasedDecember 11, 1992
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorRob Reiner
StarringTom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore
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A Few Good Men (1992)
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| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
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| A Few Good Men's Details | |
| Genre | Drama & Thriller |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 12/09/1992 (Westwood, Los Angeles); 12/11/1992 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 18 mins |
| Budget | $33–40M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| A Few Good Men's Interests | |
| General | Courtrooms, dress whites, softball bats, Guantanamo Bay, legal pads, the chain of command. |
| Music | Marc Shaiman, scoring a courtroom like it's the big game. |
| Movies | The Social Network (2010). More Aaron Sorkin, and still nobody stops talking. |
| Television | The West Wing. Sorkin again, walking and talking for seven seasons. |
| Heroes | Sam Weinberg. Skeptical, loyal, the friend everybody needs on their side. |
| A Few Good Men's Crew | |
| Director | Rob Reiner |
| Writers | Aaron Sorkin |
| Producers | Rob Reiner, David Brown, Andrew Scheinman |
| Cinematography | Robert Richardson |
| Music | Marc Shaiman |
| Edited By | Robert Leighton |
| Production | Castle Rock Entertainment |
| Distributed By | Columbia Pictures |
Demi Moore’s Galloway is right about this case from her first scene, and the movie still spends much of its 138 minutes treating her like the annoying one. She pushes, she does the homework, she keeps asking the right questions, and Tom Cruise’s Kaffee gets the glory for finally listening. That’s the weak spot in a courtroom drama that otherwise runs like a sports car. Cruise is perfect as a cocky lawyer who has never tried a real case and treats softball practice like legal strategy. Kevin Pollak gets the driest one-liners. Kevin Bacon plays the prosecutor as a decent guy doing his job, which keeps the fight fair. And Jack Nicholson, barely on screen, is a volcano in a dress uniform. You know which scene everybody quotes, and it still hits like a thunderclap. Audiences gave it an A plus CinemaScore and $243.2 million worldwide. An 8.3 because the dialogue crackles and the final act is pure fireworks. $77.88 says someone in your house yells a certain line about the truth before the credits finish rolling.
What works: The courtroom dialogue snaps, Tom Cruise is in top form, and Jack Nicholson’s showdown on the stand is legendary.
What doesn’t: Demi Moore’s Galloway does the smartest work in the case and still gets written as the nag who needs a man to listen.
Who it’s for: Anyone who loves a courtroom drama where the big moments land like a knockout punch.
Spoilers
Kaffee gambles everything on goading Jessep on the stand, and Jessep finally admits he ordered the punishment that led to Santiago’s death. Jessep is arrested, Dawson and Downey are cleared of murder but dismissed from the Marines, and Dawson finally salutes Kaffee as an officer.
At the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, a young Marine, Private William Santiago (Michael DeLorenzo), dies after a late-night hazing by two fellow Marines, who are charged with his murder. The case lands on Navy lawyer Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), who loves a plea deal, plays a lot of softball, and has never actually tried a case in court. Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway (Demi Moore) believes the two Marines were following orders, and she will not let it go. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak) rounds out the team. Their trail leads to the base commander, Colonel Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson). Rob Reiner directs. One hundred thirty-eight minutes, objection overruled.
Anyone who can handle the truth. Bring a legal pad.
Lieutenant Commander Joanne Gallowayphoto: Gabriel Hutchinson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lieutenantphoto: Amy Puzia at https://www.flickr.com/photos/39736502@N04/, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Private First Class Louden Downeyphoto: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| Tom Cruise | Lieutenant |
| Jack Nicholson | Colonel Nathan R. Jessep |
| Demi Moore | Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway |
| Kevin Bacon | Captain Jack Ross |
| Kiefer Sutherland | First Lieutenant Jonathan James Kendrick |
| Kevin Pollak | Lieutenant |
| Wolfgang Bodison | Lance Corporal Harold W. Dawson |
| James Marshall | Private First Class Louden Downey |
| J. T. Walsh | Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Andrew Markinson |
| J. A. Preston | Judge |
| Michael DeLorenzo | Private First Class William Santiago |
| Noah Wyle | Corporal Jeffrey Owen Barnes |
| Cuba Gooding Jr. | Corporal Carl Edward Hammaker |
| Xander Berkeley | Captain Whitaker |
| Matt Craven | Lieutenant Dave Spradling |
| John M. Jackson | Captain West |
| Christopher Guest | Commander |
| David Bowe | Commander Jerry Gibbs |
| Joshua Malina | Tom |
| Harry Caesar | Luther |
| Arthur Senzy | Robert C. McGuire |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $243.2M; Domestic box office $141.3M; Opening weekend $15.5M; Profit / loss (est.) +$66.9M; Rotten Tomatoes 85%; CinemaScore A+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 85% (133 reviews); Metacritic 62 / 100; CinemaScore A+; IMDb users 7.8 / 10 (323,321 votes); movie.guru score 8.0.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.