The General’s Daughter

Generally speaking, The General’s Daughter is a military murder mystery that isn’t very mysterious. More specific, so many clues are given, they may as well have used yellow dye markers for the audience, as if to say, "Here lies a clue." The murderer’s identity? Hint: the top billed stars, except the heroes, are the best suspects.

You’ll guess the perpetrator’s identity in the first reel. Unfortunately, one has to sit all the way through to the final reel to confirm it.

John Travolta plays Army cop Paul Brenner, who investigates the bizarre murder of Captain Elisabeth Campbell (Leslie Stefanson). The victim’s father is General Joe Campbell (James Cromwell), a soon-to-be-retired war hero and vice presidential candidate (of what...the Militiamen Party?). The General gives Brenner 36 hours to crack the case, but his adjutant, Colonel Fowler (Clarence Williams III), directs the cop to report his findings to him. Do we smell a conspiracy here?

Brenner interrogates his suspects with the subtlety of an act from the Follies Bergiere. The always psychotic James Woods plays Colonel Moore, Campbell’s superior officer, who may as well have walked on screen with the words "Prime Suspect" stamped on his forehead. Timothy Hutton plays an awfully young-looking Colonel Kent. He may as well have walked on screen with the words "Prime Suspect II" stamped on his helmet.

Tagging along for the thankless job of being Brenner’s sidekick is Sarah Sunhill (Madeleine Stowe). Working together at a frenzied pace, Brenner is hit over the head with a blunt object. Later, Sunhill’s nose is bloodied by a masked hitman. Yet 12 hours later, neither looks worse for the wear. Brenner must have a military-issue steel plate in his noggin.

Given the weak material they have to work with, the acting performances are okay. The scriptwriters have taken a great premise, the role of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, and saddled it with a disingenuous plot.

What might have been more interesting would be a look at the constitutional issues involving the activities of military crime investigators or those who perform the same services for major corporations. There’s no question that the Bill of Rights goes out the window when these fellows get down to work.