The General's Daughter

It's confusing when a film with this much knuckleheaded plotting and ostentatious direction shares the screen with snappy dialogue and crisp character interaction, but that's what happens when legendary screenwriter William Goldman takes a pass at an otherwise brutally predictable conspiracy thriller. The General's Daughter finds Army investigator John Travolta looking into the death of a female officer--the titular general's progeny--in an apparent rape/murder. The investigation naturally turns up ever-more-sordid details (exacerbated by director Simon West's cliché-ridden visuals), though bubbling up from this overcooked stew are enough tasty lines to distract you from its smell. Still, the dozen or so memorable verbal zingers can't make up for the silly, pretentious film-making. Not recommended. (S. Renshaw)