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From Amazon.co.uk
Dark, tortuous, labyrinthine, a tour de force of audience misdirection, The Usual Suspects is one of the key thrillers--no make that key films--of the 90s. A foreign cargo ship explodes in a California harbour. Six weeks earlier, five ill-assorted criminals find themselves side-by-side on a police line-up. Linking the two events (or so it seems) is master criminal Keyser Soze. Legendary and unseen, his very name enough to strike terror. As police and the customs officals investigate the explosion, a complex series of flashbacks spirals out from the airless room where Customs-agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) interrogates the gang's sole survivor, the aptly named Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey in a career-defining performance).
The writing is close-textured and sinewy--an ingenious heist scam enough in itself to fuel most regular thrillers, is thrown away in the first 15 minutes--and a matchless ensemble cast give it all they've got. The film plays intricate games with perception and belief: the more we're shown and told, the less we can rely on. Who is Keyzer Soze? Does he exist at all? Even after we've seen the final twist, questions still remain. This is a film to see, enjoy and argue over time and again. --Philip Kemp
Amazon.com Essential Video
Ever since this convoluted thriller dazzled audiences and critics in 1995 and won an Oscar for Christopher McQuarrie's twisting screenplay, The Usual Suspects has continued to divide movie lovers into opposite camps. While a lot of people take great pleasure from the movie's now-famous central mystery (namely, "Who is Keyser Söze?"), others aren't so easily impressed by a movie that's too enamored of its own cleverness to make much sense. After all, what are we to make of a final scene that renders the entire movie obsolete? Half the fun of The Usual Suspects is the debate it provokes and the sheer pleasure of watching its dynamic cast in action, led (or should we say, misled) by Oscar winner Kevin Spacey as the club-footed con man who recounts the saga of enigmatic Hungarian mobster Keyser Söze. Spacey's in a band of thieves that includes Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, and Benicio Del Toro, all gathered in a plot to steal a large shipment of cocaine. The story is told in flashback as a twisted plot being described by Spacey's character to an investigating detective (Chazz Palmintieri), and The Usual Suspects is enjoyable for the way it keeps the viewer guessing right up to its surprise ending. Whether that ending will enhance or extinguish the pleasure is up to each viewer to decide. Even if it ultimately makes little or no sense at all, this is a funny and fiendish thriller, guaranteed to entertain even its vocal detractors. --Jeff Shannon
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Amazing Film,
By x_bruce (Oak Park, ILLINOIS United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Usual Suspects (Special Edition) (1995) (DVD)
One of my favorite films of all times, The Usual Suspects is an exeptionally strong ensemble cast work. In particular Gabriel Byrne's cynical and beaten down reformed criminal gone bad role is played so ernestly that you forget you are watching a film. Kevin Spacey's Verbal Gint character is terrific to watch as well. Benicio del Toro steals scenes with his bizzare choice of character in an otherwise nothing role. Even Steven Baldwin turns in a good performance as does Kevin Pollack in a somewhat different role than he usually plays.All the acting is terrific and more importantly, the script is nearly flawless as is the direction. The plot moves along in it's multi-threaded fashion while keeping viewers entertained and involved enough to pay attention. The ending will either annoy or delight you depending on how you view films. I loved it and on second viewing the forshadowing of events are right in front of you like a good murder mystery although The Usual Suspects is much more than a mystery film or buddy flick or crime caper film while being a little bit of each. It's great to see a film that isn't high budget and relies on acting and a good script to move the film along. Although embraced by hollywood this is as independent as you will find in it's easy tone and believable characters. There is simply nothing worth complaining about. Get this DVD, it's additonal content is a lot of fun to watch and helps understanding The Usuual Suspects as more than a film but a project and labor of love that works on all fronts.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great movie, no extras...,
By
This review is from: The Usual Suspects [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
What can I say about 'The Usual Suspects' that hasn't already been said? The star-heavy cast is excellent, the story is gripping and intricate and unlike other "surprise ending" tales, this one is well worth watching again.The video and audio quality is very good on this Blu-ray version. However, the disc is completely lacking in extras. Not even so much as a directors commentary. If the studio had actually put some effort into this release (commentary, behind the scenes, discussion with the writer, etc.) , I could easily see it getting a 5-star review - the movie is good enough to deserve that kind of effort.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, but not half as clever as it's rumoured to be!,
By Minuial "minuial" (New York City) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Usual Suspects (Special Edition) (1995) (DVD)
"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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