Customer Reviews

The Usual Suspects / Suspects de convenance (Bilingual) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(166)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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.

"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".

A good movie with an excellent story line and exciting.

Starts out fast showing the end and then slows down in the middle.

The outcome is good.

I actually had this movie on VHS and it has always been one of my favourites. On Blue Ray it is much clearer. The surprise ending
is so great. All the actors are superb but Kevin Spacey is really great. Every time I watch it, I notice something subtle that leads to the ending.

The movie was as great as I remembered it and the picture quality was superb. I couldn't have been happier with this product.

The movie is a classic, and a definite must see. If you have not seen it yet, it is defiantly worth the price.

The movie is from 1995, so the quality is not really Blu-ray, but just as good as a normal DVD (if not slightly better)

This is one of the best movies of the 90's. its a movie that can be watched and watched. Awsome characters and storyline

I have always loved this movie. Kevin Bacon is incredible, the story is so twisted & complicated, you don't know what to believe at first. The ending is manificent. An altogether incredible way to spend two hours.

This was a very interesting story right from the word go. I had to leave part way through and found myself already thinking about where it was going and couldn't wait to get back to it. I haven't had this much anticipation about a movie in a while.
I suppose it must be hard to make a crime show without violence, coarse language or gore but by and large this one did rest on it's storytelling merrits without overdoing it in these areas. But you wouldn't show this to a younger audience. But for this reason alone I had to give it a 4 star. I think a good crime yarn can have these negative aspects absent. Still like I say it was pretty tame in this department and stood very well on the story alone, and when there was this aspect it fit and wasn't gratuitous.. Frankly this aspect was virtualy a non factor, exept in the intrinsic nature of crime itself.
That said I found this a gripping yarn that was intreaguing and interesting the entire show. I can't wait to watch it again, but don't want to watch it too soon as the way it unfolded was just easy enough to follow, but quick enough to keep you one your toes trying to keep up...and wonder if your were following it as good as you needed to. I can't wait to watch it again knowing what is revealed at the end.
I suspect upon closer examimnation it's feasability might fall apart. Could the villain really be who he was, or does the story break apart upon closer examination as all too often does in this kind of intricate yarn. But the ending and the "opening of the eyes" was pretty kool. I consider this a keeper and will watch it again sometime.