Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
In response to political pressure from Senator Lillian DeHaven, the U.S. Navy begins a program that would allow for the eventual integration of women into its combat services. The program begins with a single trial candidate, Lieutenant Jordan O'Neil, who is chosen specifically for her femininity. O'Neil enters the grueling Navy SEAL training program under the command of Master Chief John James Urgayle, who unfairly pushes O'Neil until her determination wins his respect.
G.I. Jane is a competent, watchable action-drama with a clear feminist message about women proving themselves in male-dominated military spaces. The plot hits familiar underdog beats without much subversion, and the political subplot involving the senator feels underdeveloped. Demi Moore commits physically and emotionally to the role, and Viggo Mortensen brings unexpected depth to the drill instructor, but the ensemble is largely functional. Ridley Scott's direction gives the film a polished, kinetic look with some gritty training sequences, though it's not among his more visually distinctive works. In terms of novelty, the premise of a woman entering SEAL training was relatively fresh for mainstream Hollywood in 1997, though the execution follows a conventional underdog arc. The ending deflates somewhat — the Libyan combat sequence feels rushed and the political resolution is tidy to a fault, undercutting the harder edges the film had built up.