Entertainment
Ridley Scott’s Ahead-of-Its-Time War Movie Returns 3 Decades After Dividing Critics
Perhaps Ridley Scott‘s greatest impact on the landscape of cinema has been on sci-fi, with his genre-defining masterpieces Alien and Blade Runner. That’s not to dismiss what the four-time Oscar nominee has accomplished outside the genre, though. He conquered the historical epic with his classic film Gladiator and created a gripping war movie with 2001’s Black Hawk Down. His ideas aren’t always successful, but he’s consistently managed to marry large-scale, ambitious thrills with deeper themes of identity, corporate greed, and political corruption.
In 1997, Scott would apply this same approach to the Demi Moore-led war action thriller, G.I. Jane. The film tells the fictional story of Lieutenant Jordan O’Neill, a topographical analyst who is suddenly selected to be the first woman to train in a special forces program akin to the U.S. Navy SEALs. Facing extreme sexism in a gruelling program she was set up to fail, she strives under her unfairly punishing commander, John James Urgayle (Viggo Mortensen), to break her limits and shatter the expectations placed on her by the institution around her. Critics and audiences were divided about the result, and it was met with a more middling $98.4 million box office against a budget of $50 million, yet it has since gotten a bit more love by some as a flawed film that was still ahead of its time in its message. Moore herself has been a vocal defender of the story for how it challenged gender norms, telling Vanity Fair in 2024, “I think the film really holds up. I hear it a lot from people. I think that Ridley made a really thoughtful, intelligent film that really tackled the subject matter.”
Now, nearly three decades later, Peacock is giving subscribers a chance to revisit the film and judge it on its merits. G.I. Jane is due to arrive on the platform on March 1, alongside a wide range of big new additions, including Fight Club, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Beekeeper, and Friday the 13th. In addition to Moore and Mortensen, Scott’s film also featured the talents of, among others, Jason Beghe, Scott Wilson, Anne Bancroft, Morris Chestnut, and Lucinda Jenney. Riddick and The Fugitive scribe David Twohy penned the script with Danielle Alexandra, who wrote the story.
Demi Moore and Ridley Scott Will Be Back in Theaters in 2026
Moore was last seen on the big screen in 2024 with The Substance, an instant horror classic that nearly won the actress her first Oscar and powerfully tackled the pressures women face about their bodies, particularly as they grow older. After returning to Landman for Season 2 last year, though, she’ll be back in theaters in three months on May 22 with Boots Riley‘s latest film, I Love Boosters. Scott also has a busy year ahead, with his new film, The Dog Stars, led by Jacob Elordi, set to release on August 28. Adapted from Peter Heller‘s novel, the film is set in the aftermath of a deadly pandemic that has devastated humanity, as a pilot named Hig (Elordi) and his gruff marine companion (Josh Brolin) live in relative isolation, until a mysterious transmission gives them hope of finding other survivors.
G.I. Jane arrives on Peacock on March 1. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on all the biggest films coming to and leaving streaming throughout the year.
- Release Date
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August 22, 1997
- Runtime
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125 minutes