Usual Suspects

"The Usual Suspects" is a complicated puzzle of a movie that I bet you can't watch just once. The film deals with five career crooks who have big plans after they are all brought together in a police lineup. However, their mayhem is interrupted by a mysterious character named Kaiser Sose who plans to eliminate all five of the crooks after they all crossed him in various ways during their checkered pasts. An amazing original screenplay and tight direction keep up a substantial amount of tension throughout. Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Pete Postlethwaite, and Chazz Palminteri all give top-notch performances. But it is Kevin Spacey (in an Oscar-winning part) that makes "The Usual Suspects" work on all levels. This part put him in a higher class of actors and can be compared to Robert DeNiro's star-making job in "The Godfather, Part II". 5 stars out of 5.

Out of the mind of Christorpher McQurrie comes this incredible story of a man in search of the devil. The film is called " The Usual Suspects" and what could be more appropriate than an unusual movie about five suspects who are anything but usual. The story originates with the only survivor of what the police conclude was a murderous and explosive drug deal gone bad. His name is Roger Kint (Kevin Spacey is perfect) also known as 'Verbal.' From the mouth of this innocent storytelling, con-artist comes the fantastic tale of how he and his fellow criminals, Stephen Baldwin, is Michael McManus, Benicio Del Toro is Fred Fenster and Kevin Pollak as Todd Hockney were originally assembled and then set-up. Beginning with a mix-up by law enforcement to put several guilty men together in the same line up, the tale proceeds cross country and culminates with a powerful, but mysterious kingpin by the name of Keyser Soze. It's through his attorney, Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite), the men learn they are marked for death unless they undertake a dangerous assignment. The center piece of the Unusual group is their leader, a remarkable individual named Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne, incredible performance). What transpires in this movie from moment to moment is a lesson in sleigh of hand. What we and the police Dave Kujan, (Chazz Palminteri) are told is not what we see. Conversely, what we see is not what we have been told. In the end, this film with it's haunting theme by John Ottman, is nothing short of incredible. A superb classic in both mystery and action entertainment, by Bryan Singer. A great film indeed. ****

The Usual Suspects is two movies in one. Enjoyable the first time you watch it, even more enjoyable the second time round. The first viewing asks questions that are answered in an `I could kick myself' moment in the final few minutes, and the second viewing is interesting because when you know the answers, the film becomes that much clearer. It requires a certain amount of commitment, though. Be warned, if you stop concentrating for a moment then the remaining running time of the movie will be spent trying to figure out how what you missed has lead to what you are now watching.

It concerns the story of five felons brought in by the police for a line-up and how those same felons reluctantly end up working for the mysterious and ghost-like Keyser Soze: a legend among the criminal fraternity, a man who no-one has seen and lived, a man so dangerous that he is thought to be the devil himself.you get the idea. The plot is rather intricate so I shan't bother to explain it here but it does rather make me think that Christopher McQuarrie, the writer, kept going to the office in the morning with yet another complexity to add that he thought up the night before. That's not to say it doesn't work, far from it, but it does leave you reeling from the sheer amount of information and names thrown at you from the offset.

Gabriel Byrne is good, but not flawless, as the tortured Dean Keaton who is torn between his career as a criminal and his forlorn attempt at trying to go straight, but his relationship with uptown lawyer Edie Finneran (Suzy Amis) is badly explored and I never felt it gave motive enough for his actions throughout the movie. Kevin Spacey is wonderful as the crippled Roger 'Verbal' Kint and is effective with the results both cunning and tragic. The real star of the movie, however, is a strangely accented Pete Postlethwaite as Kobayashi, supposedly Keyser Soze's right-hand man. He effortlessly plays a character of terrible coolness and poker-faced efficiency leading the dance that the rest of the characters must follow.

Director Bryan Singer has done well to bring such a momentous and involved screenplay to life and any gripes I may have cannot detract from the fact that the film, as a whole, is much better than the sum of its parts.

Ah, the Usual Suspects. My personal favorite movie of all time. Don't let my bias be a fool. Perhaps it's not THE best movie ever, but it's one that I never get tired of.

If you like flash and bikinis and breath-taking camera angles, you won't find them here. Usual Suspects is not an "epic," and it doesn't pretend to be. It's a modestly-budgeted piece by a fresh director (who later went on to do the X-Men movies, a FAR departure).

A great, gritty script, beautifully-acted characters, and what many have called the greatest movie ending of all time, are some of the shining qualities that make the Usual Suspects an object worthy of praise above its humble-looking shell.

The casting is very unusual but somehow fits perfectly. Gabriel Byrne is convincing as the ex-con trying to build a new life when he gets drawn back into his old life. Stephen Baldwin has the role of his career as the smart-mouthed and cocky professional. Kevin Pollak takes a big departure from his usual good comedy self to take a more dramatic role. Benicio del Toro literally takes a one-dimensional character with absolutely nothing in the script to give him character, and he fleshes it out with brilliant mannerisms and memorable mumbling to show incredible acting creativity. Kevin Spacey as we know him was born from this movie. His manners and fast-talking yet shy gimp nature are a treat to listen to throughout the flick.

Without giving away the plot, the best and most genius parts of the movie are the subtleties. After you see the ending, and the truth hits you like a ton of bricks, you have to watch it again. On the second time through, you'll jump up and point at the screen whenever you spot a clue you missed the first time. It's even possible to watch the movie multiple times and see something new with every viewing. It's that attention to detail that make the deceptively innocent-looking Usual Suspects one of the greatest movies of all time.

When you think of 90's thrillers, you will probably think of Heat, Pulp Fiction, Silence of The Lambs and many more, and whilst Goodfellas is perhaps my favourite of them, but close behind is The Usual Suspects.

It's a wonderful, clever thriller, it's full of twists and turns, with surprises galore, it's a film that makes you think. Just when you think you know all, they pull the rug from under you, and make you think again. Direction is taut, the script is impressive.

I would argue this is one of Spacey's best ever performances, if not the best of the lot, he is phenomenal here, and really does stand out in a crowd of immense talent, hopefully he'll get his career back on track.

Gabriel Byrne and Pete Postlethwaite shine, as does Stephen Baldwin, a time where that handsome brotherhood seemed to pop up everywhere, but he was excellent also.

It's a super slick production, with some pretty fine special effects, and good use of pyrotechnics, a polished production, one that's not overdone.

This is one of those movies that you can watch and watch again, it simply doesn't diminish or lose any of its intrigue. You know there's a twist coming, you'll sit there waiting for it, and the first time round your jaw may drop, it's a very well delivered moment. The ending of this film is fabulous.

10/10.