An amped-up, Hollywoodized account of a rather amazing story, this entertaining but insubstantial account of racism in the military just doesn't say or do anything that isn't standard for countless other movies, particularly the ones made in the years the film depicts. Cuba Gooding Jr. is well cast as the film's hero, and Robert De Niro is at his rascally best as well, but too many of the supporting characters fall into near-embarrassing stock categories (the racist head honcho, the impatient wife, etc.) George Tillman Jr.'s handling of the film is little more than adequate, so the emotional resonance one might expect never fully arrives due to his reliance on conventions. The film also liberally plays with the facts, especially in terms of De Niro's brutal, but eventually understanding drill sergeant, who is completely fictitious and was added by screenwriter Scott Marshall Smith for dramatic effect.