Rating: 
Summary: Con-Firm Your Plans
Review: The Firm, was the first John Grisham novel, adapted for the big screen. While I must confess, I never have read the book, I think the film is a solid "bubble gum" pot boiler that works very well.Mitch McDeere, (Tom Cruise) is a young and hungry Harvard Law student, who turns down offers at the top law firms to take a position at a small but wealthy Memphis firm. Mitch grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. He is so taken with his mentor Avery Tolar, (Gene Hackman) his own ambition, and greed, he ignores his wife Abby's (Jeanne Tripplehorn) initial misgivings about the suspicious practices of his new employers. It's only when two of his fellow lawyers die in a mysterious accident that Mitch begins to share her apprehensions. He then launches an investigation into the true nature of the firm and discovers that it is a front for a complex and sinister web of organized crime, that goes to very top of the firm and even includes head Oliver Lambert (Hal Holbrook). Directed by Sydney Pollack, the film benefits moreso from its all star cast, than it may have otherwise. Cruise proves that he can hold his own with Hackman for sure. Despite the fact that Cruise and Tripplehorn seem sparkless as a married couple, she too, is great in her scenes with Hackman. Pollack knows what works and keeps things at a brisk pace. His skills are evident as he juggles many different subplots that come together in the end nicely. One final comment on the film: Composer Dave Crusin's atypical music score adds just the right touch in setting the scene and giving the movie some flavor. I don't know what it is about most of the John Grisham legal thrillers, but like most of them, the DVD of The Firm lacks any substantial extras. All you get here are two theatrical trailers--nothing more. A commentary track or a few deleted scenes would have put this product over the top. The Firm doesn't have as much of a soapbox element as other Grisham stories do..that's ok. It's all for fun. No extras aside--Recommended
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Entertaining--Great Acting
Review: Okay, so Tom Cruise gets a job at a Memphis law firm, right? We've all read the book or seen the movie, so how does one recommend this to one uninitiated? Cruise puts in a solid performance, again playing his guy-who-doesn't-catch-on-for-a-while character he does so well. Sydney Pollack is a great mainstream director, and he pushes all the buttons, as well as giving us a great cast including Gene Hackman, Holly Hunter, Ed Harris, Jeanne Tripplehorn, David Straithairn, Gary Busey, Hal Holbrook, and Wilford Brimley. Top-notch acting all around, with especially good turns by Brimley and Hunter, playing against type. Hackman is always good to watch and he does a terrific job of making Avery Tolar a likeable guy in spite of his faults. I suppose the most amazing job was done by David Straithairn, who, with less than ten minutes of screen time, paints an indelible portrait of Ray McDeere, Cruise's convict brother. He is the most likeable character in the film. The plot is the standard rising-above-conflict stuff. Watch this movie (again) for the performances, or for the fine score from Dave Grusin and try to ignore the changes from the book (which I think were justified in making the ending more cinematic and Hollywood).
Rating:
Summary: NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS
Review: With superb acting fome the always good Tom Cruise,Ed Harris,
Gene Hackman,Holly Hunter,e.t.c.I really liked this movie it was
really entertaining and even funny,well when Gary Busey is on
screen as a sleazy P.I with a magnum under his desk shootin at
2 assasin like guys.The movie is all around good and worth a
watch.Don't want to give to much away so rent it,buy it,what ever
just watch it.
Rating:
Summary: Con-Firm Your Plans
Review: The Firm, was the first John Grisham novel, adapted for the big screen. While I must confess, I never have read the book, I think the film is a solid "bubble gum" pot boiler that works very well. Mitch McDeere, (Tom Cruise) is a young and hungry Harvard Law student, who turns down offers at the top law firms to take a position at a small but wealthy Memphis firm. Mitch grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. He is so taken with his mentor Avery Tolar, (Gene Hackman) his own ambition, and greed, he ignores his wife Abby's (Jeanne Tripplehorn) initial misgivings about the suspicious practices of his new employers. It's only when two of his fellow lawyers die in a mysterious accident that Mitch begins to share her apprehensions. He then launches an investigation into the true nature of the firm and discovers that it is a front for a complex and sinister web of organized crime, that goes to very top of the firm and even includes head Oliver Lambert (Hal Holbrook). Directed by Sydney Pollack, the film benefits moreso from its all star cast, than it may have otherwise. Cruise proves that he can hold his own with Hackman for sure. Despite the fact that Cruise and Tripplehorn seem sparkless as a married couple, she too, is great in her scenes with Hackman. Pollack knows what works and keeps things at a brisk pace. His skills are evident as he juggles many different subplots that come together in the end nicely. One final comment on the film: Composer Dave Crusin's atypical music score adds just the right touch in setting the scene and giving the movie some flavor. I don't know what it is about most of the John Grisham legal thrillers, but like most of them, the DVD of The Firm lacks any substantial extras. All you get here are two theatrical trailers--nothing more. A commentary track or a few deleted scenes would have put this product over the top. The Firm doesn't have as much of a soapbox element as other Grisham stories do..that's ok. It's all for fun. No extras aside--Recommended
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: A Firmly Gripping Thriller !
Review: In this screen adaption of one of John Grisham's most thrilling legal novels, Tom Cruise plays a graduating Harvard law student that is recruited by many of the nation's top law firms. He ends up choosing a firm based in Memphis, where he takes his school-teacher wife and shaggy dog to a seemingly perfect life ahead of them both. The trouble begins when Cruise gets suspicious about a murder that has occurred to one of the firm's lawyers. The action then begins there where Crusie enters a world of glitz, money, and not to mention murder in this thrilling film. With the firm hot on his heels in pursuit to silence him, Cruise exposes the truth about the firm's dirty secrets that are sure to be a shocker.
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
Review: The book was just so much better that it was hard to get into the movie. I don't think Tom Cruise was best suited for the role. He lacked a maturity even for a young lawyer and his performance was uneven. But the movie looks good and it is entertaining, but if you've read the book you'll find yourself drawing unfavorable comparisons.
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: THE FIRM
Review: Sydney Pollack directs Tom Cruise in this fast paced legal thriller based on John Grisham's best selling - selling novel. Lured by extraordinary financial perks, Mitch McDeere, a young and hungry Harvard Law student, turns down offers at the top law firms to take a position at a small but wealthy Memphis firm. Mitch, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks fueled by ambition and greed, ignores his wife Abby's initial misgivings about the suspiciously paternalistic practices of his new employers. It's only when two of his fellow lawyers die in a mysterious accident that Mitch begins to share her apprehensions. He then launches an investigation into the true nature of the firm and discovers that it is a front for a complex and sinister web of organized crime, one from which no lawyer has managed to escape alive. Solid storytelling and fine preformances bring this seemingly improbable situation straight into reality.
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