Satisfaction Guaranteed: The 10 Best Comeuppances In Cinema

A Few Good Men (1992)

It may be a courtroom drama, but when you have Jack Nicholson playing the bad guy, you know it’s going to build to a spectacular showdown.

This film version of Aaron Sorkin’s successful stage play of the same name sees Naval lawyers Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway (Demi Moore) and Lieutenant Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak) defend U.S marines Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey against murder charges when a fellow marine is found dead in his bunk.

Their investigations reveal that the marine died as a result of an extreme form of hazing – ordered by senior officers – called a ‘Code Red.’ Thus the emphasis falls onto the intimidating Colonel Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson), whom the lawyers suspect ordered the assault. As the trial heats up, and the legal team begins to fracture under the pressure, Kaffee and Jessup face-off with each other as the latter takes the stand.

First, comes an iconic Jack Nicholson scene, in which Jessup screams that Kaffee “can’t handle the truth.” He rants about his position of authority and his role in keeping America and its citizens safe. Unfazed, Kaffee asks Jessup once more if he ordered the ‘Code Red,’ to which Jessup yells, “You’re goddamn right I did!”

It is this confession that leads to a satisfying comeuppance, with Jessup arrested in the middle of the courtroom while still protesting about his importance. He gives Kaffee one last humiliating lecture, calling him “son,” at which point Kaffee draws himself up to full height, reminds Jessup of his own rank in the Navy, tells him he’s under arrest and says – in words dripping with contempt – “The witness is excused.”