The General's Daughter
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: June 18, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
15
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
VarietyStaff(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
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The General's Daughter is for all those who enjoy mystery/thrillers that neither attempt to break new ground nor are afraid to employ familiar plot devices. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The movie, directed by Simon West isn't bad, although the repeated shots of Campbell lying spread-eagled on the ground, and the amount of detail we're forced to swallow about the horrors she underwent border on the offensive. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger 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
60
Washington PostRita Kempley
A prosaic, sexually perverse thriller masquerading as a critical look at military injustice. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Travolta again carries a film with enjoyable ease, even if this one remains badly diminished by its perverse streak. Read full review
60
Village VoiceGary Dauphin
Plotwise, Daughter is an "aha!"-intensive but thoroughly random mystery. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
The General's Daughter isn't a poorly made or acted film, but it's so shallow, hypocritical, and sleazy that it's difficult not to find it repulsive. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A middling, so-so thriller about a murder investigation on an Army base, it falls to Earth somewhere between failure and success, inconclusive to the end. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
It should be said that Travolta delivers a wonderful performance that's lost in a mediocre -- and, at times, rather misogynistic and homophobic -- film. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Isn't the worst film in the world, but its vision of reality seems so stylized, so fake, that I came out of it wondering whether it has the slightest idea what it's talking about. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
The feminist veneer is the most deeply disturbing part of this callow thriller, whose fetishizing of a dead woman's body (and a live woman's sexual behavior) is far more questionable than anything even "The Silence of the Lambs" has been accused of. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter 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
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
An expensive-looking new detective thriller that should have been much better. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The whole lurid business is undeniably entertaining, but it leaves a bad taste. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyGillian Flynn
The plot is a nonsensical mess -- which just caps off the ugliness. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The acting is fine. The ensemble is strong. The story moves along. Yet a coating of sleaze clings to the film, like bread dipped in batter. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleRussell Smith
Highly recommended for graduate psychology students in aberrant sexuality, but others can probably skip sans regret. Read full review
40
NewsweekAndrea 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
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
To divulge the plot would spoil the experience -- you'll be shocked to discover, and maybe even surprised to learn, just how lame the damn thing really is. Read full review
30
Film ThreatRon Wells
In order to spare you the trauma of this cinematrocity, I'll go ahead and tell you how the film turns out. Who killed the General's Daughter? The filmmakers did. Read full review
30
The New YorkerDavid Denby
A classic case of Hollywood hypocrisy and ineptitude. Read full review
25
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
So bloated, self-righteous and exploitative, it's hard to imagine anyone staying to the end, much less demanding a sequel. Read full review
25
San Francisco ExaminerWesley 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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