The Usual Suspects

Rating:
Summary: Story doesn't play fair
Review: "The Usual Suspects" is a fascinating, convoluted, frustrating, remarkable, confusing mess of a movie. Its incredibly complex plot is fascinating; the plot is convoluted, frequently going in a number of directions at the same time, leaving holes in the plot and gaps that are too often frustrating; is remarkable because its ending ties up the most troublesome of these; but is confusing because it leaves other questions unanswered. Ultimately it's a case of buckshot cinema; it sprays all kinds of ideas, clues, red herrings, and misdirection, and doesn't play fair with the audience in that it drops clues and later pretends they didn't exist. It cheats you.

Oh, not that it's boring. Not in the least. "The Usual Suspects" is equal parts film noir, Agatha Christie murder mystery, and "Reservoir Dogs" wannabe without the great dialogue. The film won an Oscar for best screenplay and another for Kevin Spacey's "supporting actor" role. Spacey's award was well deserved; the cheating screenplay wasn't. Check out the physically impossible moments such as putting out a fire in the film's early moments and, later, blood spattering in the wrong direction in an elevator. Another sin committed here is the showbiz idiocy of an actor firing a handgun while holding it sideways; ask anyone familiar with handgun marksmanship and he/she will tell you that's a sure way to miss your target nearly every time. Stupid. Finally, and worst of all, a key character at film's end whose name is revealed as being made up on the spot even though the writers, in the previous scene, show the character's name in court records from the previous day. Wha?

Personally I don't like being lied to, and the screenplay goes beyond misdirection to out-and-out ripping you off. Unfair. Perhaps a more gullible (or less attentive) viewer won't notice. It's telling that screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie has only had one other screenplay produced in the 10 years since this film was made (2000's "The Way Of the Gun").

It's worth a look, though, partly because of how well and stylishly the finished production cheats on you. Obviously it got away with it, for most people. Also, continuing the obvious parallels to "Reservoir Dogs," this film is far more stunning in terms of cinematography, obviously a higher budget film (I can hear McQuarrie and director Bryan Singer, who were high school buds, pitching this film to prospective producers: "It's an upscale 'Reservoir Dogs' with a bigger twist at the end," which is essentially what it is). Also, the cast cannot be faulted, in spite of one actor who thinks he's Marlon Brando with a worse mushmouth than usual. (Perhaps it's the character who thinks that.) Any film with Spacey sharing extended screen time with Chazz Palmanteri is worth three stars for that alone, and Kevin Pollak & Gabriel Byrne are bonuses. One question: How did Stephen Baldwin sink from this to "The Surreal Life"?

"The Usual Suspects," ultimately, is more frustrating than most films because of how good it could have been. A little more attention to detail and a little less disingenuousness would have resulted in a far, far more satisfying finished product. Another reviewer for Amazon asks if this is the perfect film, and the answer is, "Far from it, but many of the elements are there." If you want to see the nearest thing to cinematic perfection, go back and watch "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Local Hero."

Rating:
Summary: More Than You're Usual Movie
Review: Well crafted film with pristine transfer and original plot. in the middle of the film, i thought i knew who keyser soze is.... hey! what do you know?

this is a fully loaded double sided dvd which promises the audience focused features and the usual clear MGM transfer. the 5.1 Sound is admirable though the sound level has not been equalized. great package nevertheless..

Rating:
Summary: Five big friggin' stars me son!
Review: Yes b'y, dat's right, 5 friggin stars. Dis movie is hawsome. D'actin is friggin great even doh one of dem dere Baldwins is in it. Da story is memorasizin, or sumtin like dat, and da endin...well da endin spun me right round and I landin on me arse. Dint mind doh, cause da movie's so friggin good! Radder watch dis movie den fish; dats how good tis. Tro dis one in your basket

Rating:
Summary: And I've Seen Another Great Kevin Spacey Movie...
Review: "the usual suspects" is one of those films that has an odd mix of comedy, suspense, maybe a little drama, action, and a splash of any other genre these guys knew about. the basic plot is that 5 men--including a crippled man nicknamed "verbal" played by kevin spacey who is telling us the story--are involved in a huge drug/mob scandal type thingy. the 5 men had been taken into authority for questioning, released, and then killed (all except verbal, which is telling the story). verbal had escaped the wrathful slaughtering of "kyser soze" (or however the f-ck you spell his name). soze is thought by some to be only a legend of a mob man, but other evidence--including verbal's story--points toward the existence of this unmerciful character. the cops just want to know what the big mob war was about, who they should be looking for, and the grandest question of them all: who is kyser soze? this movie, from beginning to near the end, is quite confusing and almost pointless. but somehow its not your average no-plot borefest. it actually keeps your attention. don't know how, don't know why, but it does. in the end, we get to find out who kyser soze is and are left with quite a surprise. if you just sit through this film until the end credits, you'll see that its well worth its spot in cinema history. this is another movie that is proven best at its ending.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent plot!
Review: Strong language - and lots of it.
Other than that, an excellent film.
You don't have to like Mob movies to enjoy this film.
The plot/director/writers lead you around from surprise to surprise without your knowledge and even against your will.
After the first few twists, I decided to really pay attention and STILL they got me!
Very enjoyable.


Rating:
Summary: ** KEVIN SPACEY IS THE MAN **
Review: Kevin Spacey won an Oscar for his work in this movie. Everything this man touches turns to gold, as far as I am concerned. This movie is definitely one of the new modern classics ... definitely within the top 50 movies of all times. Worth the price of admission 20 times over! Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most important movies of the 20th century
Review: Wow was this film fanominal. Acting was perfect. Screenplay was amazing. And the plot- dazzling. The ending- mind-blowing. The perfect film. It's truely incredible.

Rating:
Summary: One of the all time greats
Review: Now and then, someone asks you what your favorite movie of all time is. The Usual Suspects is on my short list.

The first time I watched it, I was a bit confused by it. Then came that ending, that final shot. It was an "oh my god" moment. I am rarely surprised by "surprise endings". They are usually telegraphed early on. But this one completely had me.

It is one of those movies you enjoy more the second and third and fourth time around, always picking up things you missed before.

It has a great villain. That is very important to a story. There is no hero, which, come to think of it, is odd. But the villain is nearly of the magnitude of Tolkein's character Sauron. How about a Kaiser Soze action figure? No, that would ruin the ending, wouldn't it.

Rating:
Summary: A modern classic of film noir
Review: I happened to catch this film just by chance on a movie channel recently. I hadn't seen it again since it came out 10 years ago, but it was just as good the second time around. It's a dark mystery and thriller about what really amounts to the ultimate bogeyman--a criminal mastermind known as Kaiser Sose--a mysterious but quintessentially evil and nefarious criminal no one has ever seen but who seems to know everyone and everything that goes on in the criminal underworld. No matter how clever you are, he can outsmart you; no matter where you try to run or hide, he can find you (he seems to have spies everywhere), and no matter how bad or tough you are, he's badder and tougher. In short, he's like the seemingly invincible criminal masterminds one used to encounter in the old comic book stories, but reinvented in a more adult way in this very well done movie.

If you like convoluted and twisted plots, this movie won't disappoint you either, and just that part of the movie practically takes Kaiser Sose's brainpower to follow and unravel, at least for me. :-) The script is terrific, and the acting by the entire cast is also superb. The drama and suspense build up from the opening scene to the final climax, where at least one of the mysteries is resolved--you finally learn who Kaiser Sose really is. Although Sose's omnipotent presence is felt during the entire movie, he's never actually identified until the last scene, although he does appear on screen. I would have never guessed who it finally turned out to be, but see if you can figure it out yourself. :-) Overall, still a fine movie that has held up very well and that I suspect is destined to become a classic of the film noir and detective/crime genre.

Rating:
Summary: God, I love this movie
Review: The Usual Suspects is one of my "desert island" movies (if I were stranded on a desert island, I'd want this with me). Along with the Oscar-winning performance by Kevin Spacey, EVERY other performance is top-notch. The story is and old-fashioned crime mystery/thriller; a bit complex but incredibly taut, and crackles with great wit and fascinating intrigue. The soundtrack is superb, and propels the movie along without you realizing it (which really is the point of it, right?). It's one of the very few movies you'll ever see where as soon as it's over your immediate reaction will be "WOW! Now I need to see it all over again!" Watching it twice only enhances the enjoyment.

It's *that* good.