The General's Daughter

REVIEW
With this story of murder, betrayal and cover-up, West attempts the quintessential military murder mystery tinged with social commentary. However, the director of Con Air has bitten off more than he can chew. Travolta is a wily investigator for the Army's Criminal Investigation Division. Having just sliced up an arms dealer with a boat engine, he's called upon to investigate the murder of a female captain found naked and tied to stakes in the ground. The fact that she's also a high-profile general's daughter only adds more pressure to an already tense case. The film starts promisingly, setting up the story. But the characters aren't fully developed, and West's direction is slack. He fails at creating tension during the investigation, and his red herrings can be seen a mile away. As a comment on women in the military, which it pretends to be about, it's merely window dressing.