The General's Daughter

Name: The General's Daughter
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, War
Released: June 18, 1999
Duration: 116 min
Rating: 47
Cast: John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe

1999

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Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 56 Ratings

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4.4

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4.4	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 56 Ratings

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The General's Daughter

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Movie Details & Credits

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: June 18, 1999 | R

Starring: John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe

Summary: When the daughter of a well-known and well-respected base commander is raped and murdered, the undercover military investigator (Travolta) assigned to the case discovers a shocking labyrinth of murderous sexual obsession and deceit.

Director: Simon West

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, War

Rating: R

Runtime: 116 min

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Critic Reviews

Staff(Not credited)

The cinematic equivalent of a disposable airplane read, a hokey, kinky military thriller that's twisty and compelling enough to hook viewers in the mood for a trashy good time. Read full review

Roger Ebert

A well-made thriller with a lot of good acting, but the death of Elisabeth Campbell is so unnecessarily graphic and gruesome that by the end I felt sort of unclean. Read full review

Gary Dauphin

Plotwise, Daughter is an "aha!"-intensive but thoroughly random mystery. Read full review

Gillian Flynn

The plot is a nonsensical mess -- which just caps off the ugliness. Read full review

Peter Travers

Watching John Travolta ease into a role is always a pleasure, but this film version of Nelson DeMille's 1992 best-selling mystery novel is a lurid mess. Read full review

Andrea C. Basora

The General's Daughter purports to be a serious examination of the seedy underbelly of military life, but one has the uneasy sensation that it simply wants to show as much of it on screen as possible. Read full review

Wesley Morris

A slick, supercharged popcorn flick of the erstwhile Bruckheimer-Simpson brigade in which the only thing more shameful than the proceedings is a very well-paid male star assigned to make you less aware of that sucking sound. Read full review

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User Reviews

JohnTravolta321

Jul 26, 2016

Watching Travolta play his character to the perfection that he does, only served to remind me why I didn't sign up - holding my tongue and biting my lip isn't me; and how he speaks his mind at the end of the movie to the General - LOVE IT !

Is the movie any good? Oh sure it is - its aWatching Travolta play his character to the perfection that he does, only served to remind me why I didn't sign up - holding my tongue and biting my lip isn't me; and how he speaks his mind at the end of the movie to the General - LOVE IT !

Is the movie any good? Oh sure it is - its a great 'who-dunnit'.... 'who-did-it'.....and for such an excellent movie, I can't understand why this isn't repeated across our screens instead of the tired 'same old' rubbish. Casting was well thought out with almost every aspect of this area not having any stone left unturned, their reward for their efforts is that actors 'click' and it shows too ....by incorporating a very strong storyline, adding some excellent actors, very good camera-work and fine direction...a movie worth 90 minutes of anyone's time is here. Very enjoyable.....love Travolta extolling the virtues of ''....I particularly like the bath beads...'' Definitely Highly Recommended and gets a 10/5 from me, lol… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Steven1981

Mar 30, 2020

Not a bad film but it would of been rubbish without the performances of two of the best actors in the world, James Woods and John Travolta are the bosses in this movie and their meetings and confrontations create the suspense in The General's Daughter.. As the film says it's about aNot a bad film but it would of been rubbish without the performances of two of the best actors in the world, James Woods and John Travolta are the bosses in this movie and their meetings and confrontations create the suspense in The General's Daughter.. As the film says it's about a general's daughter and it's just that lol. Some female in the army or something gets murdered, possibly raped and left naked on display, pegged down to die and John Travolta and Madeleine Stowe investigate. John Travolta's character is tough, smart and he takes no crap and Travolta is one of the best at playing these roles because he's nuts and a great actor so nobody else pulls this kind of character off as good as Travolta because he's so gifted at playing scenes where he's had enough and does things his way or loses his temper. He interrogates James Woods and arrests him, later he's released from jail then Travolta tracks him down to his home only to find a cat at the window and bloodmarks on the window then Travolta bursts in with his gun and finds James Woods on the sofa with a bullet in his head due to suicide, blood everywhere. Great film that's saved by excellent performances especially by Woods and Travolta and I personally think this is one of the best Travolta films along with Domestic Disturbance...Contains scenes of nudity, possible rape scenes, violence, bad language...... The General's Daughter was made in 1999 by director Simon West.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

Enerla

Oct 20, 2018

Is it about military injustice? No, the makers of the film probably haven't encountered that. But the moment we see that the general doesn't only belong to military, but also to the elite, and there are often a "secound separate system of (in)justice" for almost all groups of elite whereIs it about military injustice? No, the makers of the film probably haven't encountered that. But the moment we see that the general doesn't only belong to military, but also to the elite, and there are often a "secound separate system of (in)justice" for almost all groups of elite where loyalty to the group can be more important than law, justice or the truth, filmmakers certainly had experiences there. They are part of Hollywood elite. They seen a lot of covered up events, lots and lots of cries for help, and even more tragedies. You can accuse them of being hypocrites for showing this trend in military circles, or you can praise them for showing us this trend. And I am sure while many people know that in military you often have to hold your tongue, bit your lip, most people forget that on "any ladder you can climb to the elite" you have the very same problem.

Pro sports? If you don't hold your tongue the team and a lot of people will suffer.
Hollywood and other forms of entertainment? Abuse is often seen normal, and if you speak up you might find yourself without job.
I could also speak about the church where they hide dirty-dirty secrets to protect a shared image. And I could say that is a place where you can make a career even if you are born very poor.

And where you see this trend abuse will follow. And where abuse becomes the accepted norm it often involves sex and perversion.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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