Rating: 
Summary: Too clever for its own good.
Review: Confusion remains the common denominator in "The Usual Suspects," in which director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie are determined to create a fresh and inviting thriller, but come up empty. The star-studded cast is a delight to watch, but the film is so fixated on its own cleverness and originality that it quickly loses interest, deadening the impact of a surprise twist ending that may have worked had it had a better lead-up. Perhaps what makes the film so cumbersome is its shift from past to present, and vice-versa. Beginning with an explosion aboard a ship on which a shootout has just occurred, the movie then shifts back six weeks to the arrest of five men, all accused of stealing a van full of weaponry. Four of the men, Michael McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Fred Fenster (Benicio del Toro), Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollack), and Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey), concoct a plan of revenge against the NYPD, and the hesitant Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) joins in. After a deluge of plot twists and scenarios that seem completely out of place, the group finds themselves on the West Coast, at the mercy of a well-known man by the name of Keyser Soze, whose lawyer gives each of them a file documentation of their lives as watched by Soze. The motive: each of them has wronged Soze at some point in the past, and their chance for repentance comes with the raid on a cocaine deal set to go down in three days. All of this is narrated and seen in the mind of Kint, played with a fiendish glee by Kevin Spacey, who turns in a well-rounded performance. The rest of the cast also leave lasting impressions: Stephen Baldwin makes a great all-around bad boy, Benicio del Toro is increasingly witty, Kevin Pollack is the ideal picture of gruff and uneasy, and Gabriel Byrne instills in his character a growing sense of unease. But their talents are ultimately cast into a lost cause. "The Usual Suspects" manipulates its viewers to the end, taking us where only it wants to go, leaving no room for speculation or thought on the events at hand. It does this by throwing so much at the audience at once that the fear of missing out on something intrical to the overall plot becomes unbearable. In trying to think about what was going on, and watching each scene with full concentration, I almost went mad. In effect, the ending to Christopher McQuarrie's screenplay has little impact. You will be surprised at the movie's final turn of events, but the material prior to it lacks enough interest or even coherence to give the twist any logical sense. To me, the ending seems more like a blind leap towards greatness than a satisfying payoff to the film's convoluted script. Many will disagree with my thoughts on "The Usual Suspects," and some may even recommend watching it twice to understand the film's twists. I did, and came up short both times. Aspirations of greatness are evident throughout the plot, but they amount to little more than just aspirations. As much as I wanted to understand the central story, I can't forgive a film that throws so much into the pot that the soup is too thick to thin out again.
Rating: 
Summary: Give ME the keys you..
Review: Let me start off this review with a short story. One night, I was flipping around the channels looking for something to watch. I flipped to UPN and saw the final five minutes of "The Usual Suspects". Obviously I had no clue what was going on, and that was that for a couple months. Then while at my local video store, I saw that there was one more DVD left of it, so I figured 'what the hell' and I took it home to watch it. Towards the end of the movie, since I knew about how long it was, I thought to myself, they'd better have one hell of an ending for me to understand what happens in the end. Lo and behold it does have one hell of an ending! The action scenes aren't as exciting as say a Terminator movie, but the plot and actual story more than makes up for it. The five actors are great together and really make this movie's name ironic. Look out especially for Benicio del Toro in the criminal lineup, he's hilarious. I don't understand how there CAN be flaws in the movie, considering that the ending changes everything...I've said enough.
Rating:
Summary: One of my Top Ten Great Movies
Review: You simply can't beat the storyline and acting. I have to admit I was able to predict the ending when I first saw it, but just barely, the plot is very in depth and engrossing that everyone will enjoy it. The only drawback is the fact that the movie is not encoded in 5.1 Digital and not presented in a nicer DVD box.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh brother, I can't explain how pathetic this movie is.
Review: I'm equally dumbfounded at the love flowing from so many reviewers of this movie. If you've seen a lot of the old Twilight Zone TV shows or countless other suspense/mystery movies or shows, you'll see this movie's "surprise" ending coming before you put it in the DVD player (or VCR). Unbelievably pathetic and flimsy ending that will catch most simians by surprise negates the entire film (for those of you who think this movie is brilliant, that means the ending just means the entire movie didn't really exist). In fact, the inconsistencies through Kevin Spacey's character's dialogue(as pointed out by other reviewers) give the entire ending away, but only to those viewers who are paying attention and aren't easily duped. Writing is pitiful, acting is good, direction is laborious and editing is unobtrusive. That's the most complimentary thing I can write. The false crime story that's played out is a typical run of the mill crime story and isn't engaging. The hype machine for this film is unnecessarily spinning out of control and I pity the poor souls who get caught up in it. If you want to be popular at cocktail parties, act like you think this movie is a masterpiece, and do nothing but talk about this movie's ending (which is all I've ever heard anyone discuss about this film). If you have brain, you'll realize that this film offers nothing new and merely recycles stories and plot devices from much better movies and tv shows.
Rating:
Summary: The Usual Suspects
Review: I rented this a couple years ago to think it was usually boring. I recently noticed it to be very popular among critics and fans, so I became a fan and saw it at the store ... The movie starts off annoying and slow and stays that way throughtout every now and then putting in not-boring parts to seemingly keep you from leaving the theater. When the end came it was a little cool but I was disappointed, because I felt that was the best and only good part. I really have to know how movies like this and The Godfather and Schindlers List got to be so loved by critics and movie fans. How did they????
Rating:
Summary: You need to watch it at least twice!
Review: I just concluded my second time and it's better than the 1st one. This movie is full of details that need to be closely followed. Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, Benicio Del Toro and Kevin Spacey as a team deliver outstanding perfomances, also Pete Postlethwaite as Kyser Söze's lawyer is worth to mention. The DVD comes in Wide Screen and Standard. The picture quality is superb. At the end, if you divide the cost of the DVD between the number of times you will enjoy it, I bet it's going to be a wonderful business.
Rating:
Summary: A must-see.
Review: "Round up the usual suspects." And so they do - and ending up in the lineup are career criminals Michael McManus, Fred Fenster and Todd Hockney (Stephen Baldwin, Benicio del Toro and Kevin Pollack), ex-cop gone bad gone good again Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) and small-time con man Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey). Wait a minute ... five criminals in one lineup? There's something wrong here, right? Right ... In "The Usual Suspects," not only every line but every gesture, every facial expression and every camera cut counts. Even if you distrust the story being told, you can't exactly pin down everything that's wrong with it. The plot unfolds through the tale extracted from Kint, one of two survivors of a massacre and subsequent explosion on a boat docked in San Pedro Harbor, by U.S. Customs agent David Kujan (Chazz Palminteri). And at the same time as Kint is spinning his yarn, in a nearby hospital the other survivor (badly injured and fresh out of a coma) helps a police sketch artist draw a picture of the mastermind behind the scheme - "the devil," Keyser Söze. You can watch this movie countless times, and you will still discover new subtleties every single time. Not only will you find that it still makes sense after the story line has been unraveled at the end (which therefore is a plot twist, not a non-sequitur). You'll also discover nuance upon nuance in Kevin Spacey's incredible performance. You'll see that tiny apologetic grin on Todd Hockney's face as attorney Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite) lists a weapons truck heist - the very act which brought them together in the initial lineup, and which they have all come to believe to have been a trumped-up charge - as Hockney's latest sin against Keyser Söze, now forming part of the debt to be repaid by participating in the suicide mission in San Pedro Harbor. And at some point you'll also have figured out all of Fenster's lines (not being a native English speaker, I am relieved to find that I wasn't the only one struggling with them at first) ... although the mumbling is of course part of his character, and is as excellently delivered as every other aspect of Benicio del Toro's acting, his lines are so funny and to the point you almost wish he'd speak more clearly so you wouldn't miss half his punch lines the first time around. Among a cast of tremendous actors (to name just two, Gabriel Byrne in one of his best performances and Benicio del Toro, deserving much more than just an "also starring" mentioning in the opening credits), Kevin Spacey's star shines brightest. To this day it is a mystery to me how he came to be awarded the Academy Award for Best *Supporting* Actor - the only things the man supports (in fact carries, almost single-handedly) in this movie are Bryan Singer's directing and Christopher McQuarrie's screenplay, and that alone makes him the movie's lead character. But regardless of its title, the award was more than justified, and so was the one for McQuarrie's screenplay. With infinite trust in the audience's ability to pick up on little gestures, looks and inflections of his voice, Kevin Spacey displays all the many aspects of his character at the same time; and even the tenth time around, his performance still holds as true as the first time you watch the movie. Almost expressionless he tells his tale, always seeming to give away just about as much as he has to, and only raising his voice for a pointed (and exquisitely timed) expletive upon first being confronted with the name Keyser Söze, and for a wailing "Why me??" as agent Kujan tries to convince him that his own archenemy, Keaton, has been behind their failed enterprise all along and purposely let him (Kint) live to tell their story. This is one of those movies which have you quote their many memorable one-liners forever. (Just look at how many reviewers on this site alone are quoting the one about "the devil's greatest trick.") To the extent that it cites other works, those citations pay homage, they don't merely copy - right down to the name of the movie's production company (Blue Parrot/Bad Hat); like the title containing a reference to "Casablanca," the prototype of all films noir (or those made in Hollywood at least). It is one of the best modern examples of the genre and has long since become a cult classic - it's a must in every decent collection.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies made
Review: When I first saw this movie I was caught up in an interesting story and that alone makes it worth your time. When you get to the end of the movie it makes you glad that you spent the time watching it. It has one of the most unforgettable endings of all time. Definately one for your DVD collection. I love Kevin Spacey and Chaz Palminteri and they make this movie better with their acting. I have seen parts of this movie copied and used in others so you know it has made its mark.
Rating:
Summary: The most intelligent and clever movie ever.
Review: When I saw the scene of the coffee mug fall to the floor in Wrongfully Accused and Scary Movie, I didn't know what they were making fun of at first. A couple people at work told me that it was "The Usual Suspects" those movies were making fun of. I never got around to seeing it until recently. Now I know why all the movie critics and people still talk about this movie, even to this day. So I finally understand the part with the coffee in Scary Movie and Wrongfully Accused. I find those parts much funnier now. Bryan Singer did a wonderful job on producing and directing this movie. I thougt he did a great job directing X-men, so I was pretty sure "The Usual Suspects" would be good. This movie kept me thinking to the very end. I never, ever, ever, would have guessed that 'Kyser Soze' was who he was. This movie is so clever and brillant, it's one of a kind. Theres not a lot of movies out there like this, that keeps you guessing, and makes you want to watch the movie again and again. This movie doesn't have much action, so if you want action, look else where. Now if you want a slick, smart mystery movie, with the coolest ending of any movie ever, this is it. "The Usual Suspects" is now on the list of my top ten movies of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Keeps you guessing till the end.
Review: This film has one of the best endings ever. The build-up is exciting (albeit a little violent) and the climax is guaranteed to leave the audience breathless. Kevin Spacey shines, with his mesmerising acting. It is very difficult to review this film without giving away the suspense, hence I am not going to try to. If you like suspense and do not mind a little violence, then this is a must-see film.
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