This new military thriller from director Simon West (Con Air) fails on just about every level. Surprisingly, the usually dependable John Travolta is one of the films weak links.

Travolta plays Paul Brenner, an army investigator who is assigned the unpleasant duty of examining the circumstances that surround the death of the general's daughter. To make matters worse, he's partnered with ex-flame and rape-specialist Sarah Sunhill, played by Madeline Stowe in a pointless role, tacked on to add some extra tension that never really surfaced.

The General's Daughter is a half-baked mystery that's pretty easy to solve. It's also quite ugly for a summer film and takes many disheartening and unrealistic pot-shots at the military. As in last years A Civil Action, Travolta seems all wrong for this film. He tries to be a hero like Harrison Ford's in the Tom Clancy films, but can't seem to transcend the material he's working from.

However, the film does get a minimal boost from spectacular performances from James Cromwell as the General, Clarence Williams III as his Chief of Staff, and the always great James Woods as the main suspect in the case--but it doesnÕt add up to much. It's almost as if director Simon West didn't want to be reduced to making Bruckheimer action films, so he tried to make a character study. Ironically, Con Air, in all its gratuitous glory, had more character.

I'm all for dark subject matter--Seven, The Silence of the Lambs, and Kalifornia are all terrific films. This film is just dark and brooding in a way that doesn't draw the audience in.