I watched the movie and this is my insight about it.
There were two marines accused for the murder of a marine named Santiago, who died because of lactic acidosis. Then there was this woman, Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway, who wants to volunteer and defend the case. She met Lt. Daniel Kaffee and Lt. Sam Weinberg, together they prepared and studied the case for the threatening trial.
Lt. Daniel Kaffee, went to the room, where Santiago died, to observe the scene. Then they found out something important, Lt. Kendrick shared to them that Santiago died because he had no code (unit, core, God, country) and honor. During the first day of the trial, Capt. Jack Ross talked about how Santiago died. They are trying to show that he was poisoned. Lt. Daniel Kaffee did not agree with it, he believe that Santiago died because of the Code Red (extrajudicial punishment) wherein someone was ordered to do it.
On the last day of the trial, Col. Nathan Jessep came by to be a witnessed for that day. Lt. Kaffee asked several questions about Santiago. Col. Nathan said that he want Santiago to be safe that’s why he ordered Kendrick to tell his men Santiago was not to be touch. He also ordered Markinson to transfer Santiago off the base immediately. They tackled more about it which added a little tense in the court. Then later on, the truth was revealed, Col. Nathan finally admitted he ordered the Code Red.
The final decision was ready. The charge of conspiracy to commit murder, the members were found not guilty, but on the charge of conduct and becoming a United States Marine they were accused guilty. The two marines, Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private Lowden Downey were shocked and at the same time hopeless, but Lt. Daniel Kaffee reminded them that “You don’t need to wear patches on your arm to have your honor”, which also serves as the moral lesson of the movie.

CHARACTERS:

TOM CRUISE (Lt. Daniel Kaffee): A man who has no idea how a courtroom looks like. At first you will think that this man is just an easy going person who loves to play baseball. You won’t feel that he is into his job, but as the story goes on you can see a change in him. He started to work seriously and somehow learned how to prioritize important matters.

JACK NICHOLSON (Col. Nathan R. Jessep): A frightening man who wants to be honoured by all people. The way he speak, people will easily believe him and accept all he said as true. He is courageous that no matter what the people say about him, they can’t scare him. He is a kind of person that can betray you.

DEMI MOORE (Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway): A responsible woman who face important things carefully, wherein every actions she made needs to be planned and organized, so that everything will be smooth and under control. Another traits of Demi Moore is her willingness and dedication in her work which can be seen in the first part of the movie.

KEVIN BACON (Capt. Jack Ross): He is like a clever guy that is always ready for everything he does.

The movie has two main points; Honor and Truth. You don’t need to be in a high position to be honoured, sometimes doing good and being respectful is enough. It also tries to teach us that we have to think first before following the orders that were given to us. If no one will be harmed, then go on. But if someone will be in danger if you did that order, it’s much better to refuse doing it. The movie also tries to imply that no one can hide the truth. Remember that truth will always prevail.