Rating: 
Summary: Better than the original Book!
Review: Grisham is getting smarter in the film than the book. I love the film more than the book. The cast was great! I love it so much I bought the film. In the book, they becomes fugitive running from Panama City of Florida penhandle. The author must learned from someone to change the outcome of the story. It is much clever and pleasant. Well, you find it out in the film. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Professioanl handling improves upon a hohum book
Review: This was the biggest movie going when it came out; now, no one remembers it as anything other than the first John Grisham movie. Setting the standard for the modern legal thriller, the firm impresses us with the way that Tom Cruise exerts superhuman effort in order to excel enough to graduate top of his class. But the firm which hires him with an offer that's too good to refuse eventually turns out to have some ulterior motives, and Cruise finds himself having to apply his superior morals to the situation, which finds him in conflict with some not-very-nice people, headed by Wilford Brimley. This works as a thriller, and I actually thought that the actors and filmmakers brought more humanity to the characters than the book.
Rating: 
Summary: T.C.'s films, some of them are 2 Mechanical. Firm is slow.
Review: The Firm stars Tom Cruise (The Last Samurai, Minority Report) as a young and clean cut lawyer who is hired by a big law firm. There is has a guide and aid, Gene Hackman (Welcome To Mooseport, The Replacements) who takes Cruise under his wing. Cruise and his wife Jeanne Tripplehorn seem like they hit the jackpot but soon things happen when a death happens involving people from the firm and Cruise is suddenly visited by the FBI, one being Ed Harris (The Human Stain, Pollack). Soon Cruise gets deeper and deeper into the hidden secrets and lies the firm holds within and soon finds himself caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one being that the firm is connected to the mob. Cruise is then dealt with blackmail and all those things that happen when someone gets involved or tries to understand something that their not supposed to. Cruise then turns the tables and tries to win his life back. A solid adaptation of John Grisham's novel offers some good performances: Cruise, Hackman, Tripplehorn and Harris to name a few and it also has paranoia mystery threw it all as well that makes it fun to watch all threw though the length of the movie 154 minutes makes it drag on a while. Also starring Holly Hunter (Thirteen, Crash), Gary Busey (Lethal Weapon, Im With Busey), Hal Holbrook (Creepshow, Our Town), Wilford Brimley (Tv's Walker Texas Ranger), David Strathairn (Matewan, The River Wild), Paul Colderon (21 Grams) and Tobin Bell. Paul Sorvino (Money Talks, See Spot Run) and Joe Viterelli (Analyze This and Analyze That) appear in unbilled cameos at the end. Directed By Sydney Pollack (Changing Lanes, Tootsie, Eyes Wide Shut)
Rating: 
Summary: The best Grisham adaptation
Review: The worst mistake by a movie reviewer can be the comparison between the movie and the book (in this case it is the bestseller book of John Grisham) where most movies fail so I rated this movie on its own terms and haven't made comparisons to the book. My first impression: this movie is a bit overlong and contains some filler minutes which could have been avoided. Apart from that it is a good watch with really good performances.
The cast is made up from excellent actors who all draw awesome pictures of their characters. Tom Cruise is a brilliant choice for Mitch, the young graduate lawyer who accepts the job offer of a little Memphis law firm which turns out to be a front of the mighty Mob. Cruise incorporates all the features of the young, willing yuppie who would sell his soul for $100.000 a year, a house and a beautiful car. Although when he realizes that the behind the facades his life (and the lives of all lawyers at the firm) is being ruthlessly and efficiently ruined he tries to escape. Gene Hackman is also a good choice for Mitch's senior partner, Avery who lost his illusions long ago. Ed Harris is the FBI officer whose task is to stir the calm waters at the Mob's law firm. His performance is a bit over the top (Harris seems to overplay all his roles), anyway it is acceptable. Wilford Brimley is the security man of the firm. He is cold, efficient and frightening and seems never to make a mistake. In fact, he's the one to put goose bumps on your back. The only weak link is Jeanne Tripplehorn, who throws in a pale, unlikely version of Mitch's wife. You simply can't believe her feelings because they're not played well. Last, but not least, kudos to Holly Hunter, who steals all the scenes she's in (unfortunately there are not too many scenes with her).
The director and the director of photography manage to create an atmosphere that sucks you in from the very first moment of the movie and doesn't let you go till the end. The movie makes a dark impression and even the shots taken in the Caribbean don't make you feel good. There is a sinister intention in every move and you can actually feel the growing tension. The Firm is a very well directed movie, indeed.
Unfortunately, the DVD itself doesn't offer much for the viewer. All we get are two trailers, but no documentary, no interviews and absolutely no extras. Even the compulsory director narrates the movie track wasn't added. You can choose between 2.0 surround or 5.1 digital, neither is outstanding. The lack of extras deserved the 1 star minus for the production.
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: 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.
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