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The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A jigsaw puzzle of delight
Review: Every once in a while a movie comes along that elicits extremes of either like or displeasure. As far as The Usual Suspects is concerned, I have friends who say that this is a movie too enamored of its own convoluted inventiveness to rank among the all-time classics: Personally, I disagree and think this is a masterpiece of a movie. Christopher McQuarrie's Oscar winning screenplay, skillfully brought to life by director Bryan Singer, is a patchwork of elements that combine to thrill the viewer and draw you ever deeper into the intricate web of the plot. Kevin Spacey deservedly won an Oscar for his portrayal of Verbal Kint, the club-footed short con artist who gets mixed up with a gang of hardened felons - delightfully played Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, and Benicio Del Toro - but all is not as it appears.

The central theme of the movie is one of detection: Who is the criminal mastermind Kyser Söze ? Does he exist and if so, who is he? The five crooks find themselves forced by Söze's supposed lawyer, wonderfully played by the British actor Pete Postlethwaite, into performing a daring raid to interrupt a cocaine deal - but is this really the reason for the ninety-one million dollar exchange? The story is recounted by Spacey to the investigating customs officer, played by the skillful Chazz Palmintieri, in ever increasing levels of complexity. The to and fro between Palmintieri and Spacey is a delight to watch but it would spoil the experience to describe the scenes in too much detail. Suffice it to say that the end is not what we are led to expect! This movie is an all round pleasure: the writing inventive, the acting delightful, and the visual clues are a creation of the writer and director that require a second viewing to fully appreciate. The bulletin board... but that would be giving it away!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Think you've figured it out? WRONG!
Review: It is hard to believe that the time it took to write this movie took only slightly longer than the running time of the finished project. Never in my life have I been so caught up in a suspense-laden drama-action movie and been caught so off guard by the ending.

Five (in)famous criminals take on the big heist that will enable them to retire. How did they get thrown together? For whom are they working, really? Whom do they trust? And what about this Keyser Soze? Is he real? Who is he, and what does he have to do with any of this?

This movie was a brilliant marriage between spectacular acting and phenomenal writing. This movie is so worth your time, it's worth purchasing for your home collection. I have seen it many times and find something new in it each time I see it. Although Kevin Spacey won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Verbal, Gabriel Bryne, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Stephen Baldwin and Chazz Palminteri all turn in exceptional performances to make this film a can't-miss.

Be sure to watch this movie when you won't be interrupted. Turn off the ringer on your phone, make sure the kids are asleep, turn off the lights, and prepare yourself...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: so boring i didn't finish it
Review: when i rented this movie i thought that it would be something that was at least watchable. but it wasn't. i can now honestly say that i fell asleep during a movie. go ahead say this was a terrible review im just writing this to lower it's ratings so somebody doesn't waste their money buying or even renting it before they see it. this movie was boring, stupid, a waste of talent, poor directing, bad storyline, and a pointless plot. if you want to see a good movie see Fight Club or something, don't waste your money or even time on this piece of trash.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The perfect film?
Review: Sometimes a movie really surprises you, really blows you away for some reason. I saw "The Usual Suspects" not really expecting anything interesting. Well, I was wrong. Instead I got to see a terrifically exciting movie featuring outstanding acting and a plot twist that actually caught me by surprise.

The plot? Following a bloody shoot-out aboard a ship moored at a Santa Monica pier, the police question a hood by the name of Verbal Kint in an attempt to learn about what happened. We see several different possibilities and the final answer we get is a real surprise.

Typically movies rely upon special effects, left-field plot twists, and brand-name casting to get the job done. "The Usual Suspects" relies on an excellent script, good direction and wonderful acting from people who might not necessarily be household names. Look at this cast- Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollack, Benicio Del Toro, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri, Dan Hedaya, and Pete Postlethwaite. This is some serious acting talent to behold. They all are great, but in particular Gabriel Byrne (Dean Keaton) and Kevin Spacey (Verbal Kint) deliver exceptional performances. Neither man is quite who they seem to be. Spacey won a well-deserved Oscar for his performance in this film.

Director Brian Singer does a brilliant job coaxing terrific acting performances from his cast. This was a tought movie to make and he pulled it off in spades.

Go see "The Usual Suspects" and find out why it is one of my favorite films.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "How do you shoot the Devil in the back? What if you miss?"
Review: Bryan Singer's artful direction of Christopher McQuarrie's ingenius script, as well as perfect casting, make The Usual Suspects a film impossible to forget. David Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) , an agent for U.S. customs, has to find out why 27 people were massacred in Long Beach Harbor. His only source of information, a crippled man, the only one to make it out unscathed. Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) procedes to tell his story of five criminals who, after being somewhat wrongly accused of a crime, decide to get back at the cops. The success of their revenge leads to an even bigger job, this time for the elusive and feared Keyser Soze. A man each character inadvertently crossed, the job is penance and appeasment to the powerful mobster, a man no one is even sure exists. Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) is a cool headed professional, who insists that everything be thought out. McManus (Stephen Baldwin) is a rash, quick to anger thug. Fenster (Benicio Del Toro) ia a smart ass with a speech impediment. Hockney (Kevin Pollack) is a sarcastic, suspicious loner. These four, plus Verbal Kint find out that Keyser Soze is all too real, but who is he? The last five minutes of this movie will tell you just that as well as make you rethink the entire film. A must see movie, one of the best films of the 1990's. The only confusing part about this movie is how Kevin Spacey won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar when he's in 90% of this movie, he should have won Best Actor! Oh well. "And like that, he's gone."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What A Film - Keeps You Guessing To The End...
Review: The Usual Suspects, is, in my mind, one of the most fantastic pieces of film-making ever to grace our screens. That a group of people can come up with a piece of fiction that is so excellent in every way, from start to finish, is frightening. Who knows, maybe this film has no superior.

A lot is made of the film's ending. Not for a moment am I going to let slip what exactly that is. I would never deny another film lover the sheer sense of amazement that ran through my body when the film reached its climax. While not the film's only strong point; this is a masterpiece ALL the way through, the ending will blow you away.

The cast is, in a word, flawless. Kevin Spacey has, as far as I am concerned, never been better. He turns in a performance that is so moving and outstanding that he should have got three Oscars. But he is not alone. Byrne is fantastic, Del Toro adds continental flair, and Postlethwaite is disturbingly dark, yet calculated.

By all means watch this film, and observe its strong points, from Bryan Singer's masterful direction to the equally pleasing musical score. Prepare yourself for a rollercoaster ride and the best ending EVER in a film made anywhere in the world. I mean that. Just who is Kasier Soseh?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unusually a suprise !!!
Review: When sitting down on your over-price Ethan Allen couch with your spouse, popcorn Pepsi you press play on your DVD player and you begin to realize three very important things when watching this movie-at least I did.
One: You cannot believe the Usual Suspects was not as popular as some of the other films released in. That is just craziness.
Two: There are a few really excellent performances by this cast, mainly Kevin Spaceys.
Three: Kevin Spacey is an amazingly talented actor who signified his gold statue with this wonderful performance.
For those reading this review and hoping to get a summary sorry, but trust me, buy this movie, it has one of the most surprising endings you will ever see.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The movie is killer...
Review: But if you're spending more on this dvd version because of the extras, save your money and just get the film alone. The movie is still excellent;a modern classic. But the extras are weak and, sadly, in some cases, contrived. Even the gag reel falls flat because of lousy editing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hi!
Review: Anybody who rates this move less then 4 stars does not get the plot, and is stupid!, Best movie ever!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not bad, but not half as clever as it's rumoured to be!
Review: "The Usual Suspects" is perfectly watchable, but far from great. It probably didn't help that I watched this in 2004, well past all the breathless hoopla and the awards. It probably also doesn't help that I'm not a big Kevin Spacey fan-he is a bit histrionic for my taste. Gabrile Bryne was excellent in this movie though, as was Stephen Baldwin. The plot moves reasonably fast, but is ultimately unsatisfactory. Everyone's heard of the plot by now: 5 random guys (the "usual suspects') are brought in for questioning on a crime, then get together to plot a new crime. Only one-Spacey-survives at the end and tells his tale of a super bad guy who engineered all of it. The problem with the plot is that it has a lot of holes in it, isn't as clever as it purports to be, and ultimately fails to make sufficient sense. The thing with having a twist at the end is that the whole movie still needs to make perfect sense upon reviewing, which in my opinion, this movie failed to do! The motives of the characters (especially Soze) were far from clear---does a mastermind of that sort need these 2 bit criminals to help him along? How could he ensure that he wouldn't get caught up in it at the end? How does the Steve Baldwin character come up with the plot in the first place? How do the cops even get their hands on Soze if he's so good? Wasn't there a better, less elaborate way for him to off the witness?, etc. etc. There are just way too many questions...and the plot ultimately proves to be dull and contrived. Some of the scenes are just too self-important and not clever enough by half (much in the way that "The Da Vinci Code" is not clever enough, to use a recent analogy!). The only redeeming factors are an engaging cast and a quick (if rambling and somewhat pointless) plot. This isn't a bad movie but it doesn't live upto the hype. If you really want a well-crafted movie with a big surprise at the end, watch "The Sixth Sense". If you want a clever movie that makes you work to put everything together, watch "Memento".


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