Rating: 
Summary: Good not great.
Review: I bought this movie, and I'm glad I bought it.Great suspence, but it took me a couple of years of seeing it on cable before I liked it enough to buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT FOR ME
Review: I did not like this film. It did have drama and suspense, and Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman were good. Bribery, blackmail... always good premises for action pictures. But personal taste dictates that I just did not get into it. Jeanne Tripplehorn is one good reason not to like it. Sometimes she is very likeable (in the virtually unknown Til There Was You) but other times not so (Sliding Doors). Most people who see this will probably like it. What can I say?
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: I first saw 'The Firm' just because it sounded interesting. What I didn't know, though, was that I was in for quite a treat! I enjoyed every minute of this intense thriller, from the beginning until the surprise ending (though I'm tempted to tell what happens, I'll let you find out for yourself!). I tell a bit of the story here, so it is possible they may be regarded as **SPOILERS**, so if you don't want to know anything about the movie, STOP READING.Tom Cruise shows off one of his best performances as Mitch McDeere, the formally poor boy who goes off to Harvard Law School and graduates cume laude. He goes to many prestigious firms, all of whom want him real bad. One firm, though, Bendini, Lambert, and Locke, strikes his interest. In return for joining, he gets $100,000 per year, and a shiny new Mercedes. He accepts, and he and his wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn), fly to Memphis, where they get a nice house, with most of it payed for by the firm. The story unfolds, and through the course of events, Mitch learns the dark truth about his firm. . . The acting is superb in this film. Tom Cruise's performance reminds me of his in 'A Few Good Men'; strong and realistic. Jeanne Tripplehorn is a pleasure to watch as his wife Abby. Gene Hackman plays a surprisingly sympathetic role as a partner in the firm. Holly Hunter (who received an Oscar-nomination for her role) is almost humorous as a southern-twanged secretary-turned victim-turned accomplice. Ed Harris brings his usual fine acting style as an FBI agent, and veteran actor Hal Holbrook plays a grandfatherly lawyer more evil than his attitude would imply. Sydney Pollack's directing is radiant, and the single piano score by Dave Grusin can be both calm and content, then become fast and furious. In conclusion, 'The Firm' is a fun, fresh thriller, and it should be enjoyed for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: I like Tom Cruise in most of his movies, I thought this was one of his better ones. A young husband and his wife start out with a big Law Firm making major money only to find it is a very corrupt firm trying to take over every aspect of their lives, at work and in the home. I really liked his solution to the problem, not only did he get his brother out of prison, but he freed himself and his wife without giving up his whole life and career and had the FBI where he wanted them for a change instead of the other way around. And he kept all the evidence against the firms clients and them in the event he ever needed it, so boy did he have the hammer! He also got rid of two of the really bad guys. He and Abbie went on with their lives in a new place and in a new way.
Rating:
Summary: It was ok
Review: I personally didnt like the movie that much. Think I would of liked it better if I had not read the book, but I did. So I pretty much hated the movie, but loved the book. It was an awesome book, with a lot of suspence, and a good ending. Then I see the movie, and its totally changed! The entire second half of the book isnt even in the movie. Not a good ending at all. If you really want to know more about the firm, read the book, dont go and rent the movie. It seems like they tried to get more into the relationships of the people in the movie, where its more suspencefull in the book, dealing more with the mob and the F.B.I. I was going to go buy the movie because I loved the book some much. Good thing I didnt.
Rating:
Summary: Not one of Grisham's best.
Review: I rented this movie last Sunday upon a recommendation by some friends, and was very sincerely dissapointed. I rented it along with The Juror and watched The Juror first, thinking that if I did not like it I would always have the better movie to fall back upon. Ha! I was MIGHTILY irritated by the music, which seemed like it would have fit better on an episode of Sesame Street, and I was dissapointed in the lack of suspensful events. I am a fan of John Grisham's works, and although I will admit I have not read this novel, I thought this was by far his worst attempt. If you want to see a truly good Grisham movie, rent or buy A Time To Kill.
Rating:
Summary: A bit long, but a tense, fun ride
Review: I was predisposed to like this movie when it hit theatres in 1993 because it was filmed in my hometown and I worked as an extra in it. But putting all my bias aside, the film is better than it could have been, but not as good as it should have been. Jeanne Tripplehorn took over as Abby McDeere when a pregnant Robin Wright (Penn) dropped out, and she does well with an underwritten, stock character. Wilford Brimley is deliciously evil, and Gene Hackman is, well, perfect as always. Some folks balked at the different-from-the-book ending, but as director Sydney Pollack explained, the original town-to-town-chase ending would have added too much time to the film. As for the musical score -- I was a bit taken aback by the Dave Grusin piano in what I thought would be an action/thriller genre movie. But Pollack has used Grusin on many of his films, and soon the score grows on you. I think this was probably the best movie version of a Grisham novel. "The Client" seemed kind of flat (sorry, Joel Schumacher), "The Pelican Brief" was far from Alan Pakula's best (he did the superb "Parallax View" w/Warren Beatty), and "John Grisham's 'The Rainmaker'", while not bad, was a step down for the masterful Francis Ford Coppola. I haven't seen "A Time To Kill" yet. The cast of "The Firm" actually did pretty well with the material given. The book reads like a movie screenplay, but that can be a curse. Every reader "sees" a different version or treatment of it in their heads as they read it, so how could the actual film ever live up to every reader's expectations? It can't. So the film manages to succeed in spite of all that. Good job! But then again, I'm in it and I got to meet the whole cast (except Holly Hunter and Gary Busey), so I'm biased.
Rating:
Summary: The movie (not the book)
Review: I'm going to give my opinions of this movie, not the book it's based on, and I'm not going to judge the movie against the book because the movie simply isn't the book. If everyone posting here understood this, these posts would be a lot shorter and probably less rancorous. Pollack is a better director than Grisham is a writer. The movie is better directed than the book is written. The ending works for me. I liked it. I liked Cruise and Tripplehorn. I liked the music. I very much liked the entire supporting cast (this is one movie I'd add to a list of great ensemble movies). Hackman gave one of his best performances, which is saying a lot. Hunter and Strathairne were excellent (their last few lines together by the water were written and delivered perfectly). Ed Harris was powerful. Holbrook and Brimley were very good. Brimley's little talk with Cruise over the photos was maybe the best scene in the movie, and his way with the simplest lines ("I get paid to worry when there isn't anything to worry about," "He's going nowhere," "OK, Mitch?") is the mark of a pro. This isn't one of my favorite movies, but it does fall into another unique category--it's one of those movies I can watch almost anytime, all the way through, and enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Read the book--What?
Review: I'm sick of everyone saying, "The book was better, you should read the book." Hello--that's like comparing a Robert Frost poem to a Shakespearian play. Two completely different types of media should never be compared. Spencer Tracy's brilliant performance in The Old Man and the Sea is the closest I have ever seen a film stick to the novel the movie was derived from. Frankly, The Old Man and the Sea was not the greatest of films, but it is definitely worth checking it out for Tracy's performance. Back to the point at hand, a movie should be judged on how good of a movie it is, and The Firm is a great flick. Not only is the acting top of the line, but also Sydney Pollack does a fantastic job keeping the film tight yet managing to pull off a great twist at the end. On a side note, having not yet read The Firm by John Grisham, I can't tell you how good it was; however, I have read several of his other books. I'm not a betting man, but I would put some money down that says The Firm, like his other books, is at best an entertaining read. Please stop trying to compare visual media to print media--you can't compare apples to oranges.
Rating:
Summary: Read the book--What?
Review: I'm sick of everyone saying, "The book was better, you should read the book." Hello--that's like comparing a Robert Frost poem to a Shakespearian play. Two completely different types of media should never be compared. Spencer Tracy's brilliant performance in The Old Man and the Sea is the closest I have ever seen a film stick to the novel the movie was derived from. Frankly, The Old Man and the Sea was not the greatest of films, but it is definitely worth checking it out for Tracy's performance. Back to the point at hand, a movie should be judged on how good of a movie it is, and The Firm is a great flick. Not only is the acting top of the line, but also Sydney Pollack does a fantastic job keeping the film tight yet managing to pull off a great twist at the end. On a side note, having not yet read The Firm by John Grisham, I can't tell you how good it was; however, I have read several of his other books. I'm not a betting man, but I would put some money down that says The Firm, like his other books, is at best an entertaining read. Please stop trying to compare visual media to print media--you can't compare apples to oranges.
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