The Usual Suspects (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
A boat has exploded on a San Pedro pier. $91 million of drug money is discovered aboard; as are 27 murdered criminals! The only survivors are a Hungarian terrorist burn victim, & a crippled, cowardly con man named Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey). Disinclined to help the cops, Verbal finally gives in & explains to the feds what happened on the boat. His story begins 6 weeks earlier - where - following a truck hijack in N.Y. (where guns have been stolen), 5 conmen are arrested, taken into a NY police station, & lined-up for questioning. They are ... 'The Usual' Suspects' (directed by Bryan Singer): Verbal Kint (Spacey), Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), a nervy ex-cop-turned crook; Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak), a cold-hearted hardware specialist; Michael McManus (Stephen Baldwin), a crazed entry man; and Fred Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), McManus' partner.
Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) is desperate to find out who orchestrated the hijack.
But none of these 5 fellows are willing to give in. Instead, they sit in jail - waiting to hear their fate (charge or release). And while waiting, they come up with a revenge operation against the police - a plan for an emerald heist. The operation goes smoothly until the dreaded mastermind criminal 'Keyser Soze' is felt. What does this mean? Well, it means that each one of these 5 men have wronged Soze in the past & must pay back now. Each crook crossed the wrong person at the wrong time. And it's the emerald heist which leaves the 27 dead on that exploded boat at the beginning of the film. Just who is Keyser Soze? And why is he able to control everything? It all unfolds in one Hell of a mysterious, twisty, convoluted film.
I have seen this film twice & I'm still not gung-ho about it. But I'll try to explain what I liked & disliked about it. The story is told in 2 diff't time frames (present & looking back); I enjoyed looking back on events leading up to the conclusion. I liked that Verbal Kint is not the most reliable of narrators (how can we trust that his version of the story is anywhere near the truth?). 'The Usual Suspects' is dense in atmosphere. Filmed as a sort of stylish film noir, the movie offers a dense, serpentine plot, shadowy characters & a devious nature. There's mystery, double-crossings, half-truths, deceptions, suspense, shocks, some good dialogue, some good acting ... but I just didn't fall in love with it. I didn't care enough to pay close attention from the onset. 'The Usual Suspects' is a film in which you must pay close attention to the details, or else you'll be lost. Look & listen to everything. Unfortunately, I wasn't reeled-in to the story initially to warrant my full investment. I only have myself to blame, but if I'm not into it, I'm not into it.
The plot gets crazy, the rules of the mystery keep getting altered, & with my attention wavering early on (even after several viewings); I found it difficult to enjoy - or care about all the plot twists & final revelation. Furthermore, it didn't move me emotionally. I'm not saying that a film noir thriller should start my waterworks. But I was devoid of emotion throughout. There's little in it to get me going. It's bleak. It's a smart film that wants to say, 'hey look, I'm really smart'. And I find that slightly irksome. I'm sure this is a movie that most people will salivate over. It has all the makings of becoming a cult classic. I just wish I could see what my fellow critics are seeing. It's well done (building nicely to a surprise ending), the ensemble cast is solid as a rock (particularly Kevin Spacey), & I appreciated the intermittent bursts of humor & thrills. But 'The Usual Suspects' just isn't my thing, I guess.
Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) is desperate to find out who orchestrated the hijack.
But none of these 5 fellows are willing to give in. Instead, they sit in jail - waiting to hear their fate (charge or release). And while waiting, they come up with a revenge operation against the police - a plan for an emerald heist. The operation goes smoothly until the dreaded mastermind criminal 'Keyser Soze' is felt. What does this mean? Well, it means that each one of these 5 men have wronged Soze in the past & must pay back now. Each crook crossed the wrong person at the wrong time. And it's the emerald heist which leaves the 27 dead on that exploded boat at the beginning of the film. Just who is Keyser Soze? And why is he able to control everything? It all unfolds in one Hell of a mysterious, twisty, convoluted film.
I have seen this film twice & I'm still not gung-ho about it. But I'll try to explain what I liked & disliked about it. The story is told in 2 diff't time frames (present & looking back); I enjoyed looking back on events leading up to the conclusion. I liked that Verbal Kint is not the most reliable of narrators (how can we trust that his version of the story is anywhere near the truth?). 'The Usual Suspects' is dense in atmosphere. Filmed as a sort of stylish film noir, the movie offers a dense, serpentine plot, shadowy characters & a devious nature. There's mystery, double-crossings, half-truths, deceptions, suspense, shocks, some good dialogue, some good acting ... but I just didn't fall in love with it. I didn't care enough to pay close attention from the onset. 'The Usual Suspects' is a film in which you must pay close attention to the details, or else you'll be lost. Look & listen to everything. Unfortunately, I wasn't reeled-in to the story initially to warrant my full investment. I only have myself to blame, but if I'm not into it, I'm not into it.
The plot gets crazy, the rules of the mystery keep getting altered, & with my attention wavering early on (even after several viewings); I found it difficult to enjoy - or care about all the plot twists & final revelation. Furthermore, it didn't move me emotionally. I'm not saying that a film noir thriller should start my waterworks. But I was devoid of emotion throughout. There's little in it to get me going. It's bleak. It's a smart film that wants to say, 'hey look, I'm really smart'. And I find that slightly irksome. I'm sure this is a movie that most people will salivate over. It has all the makings of becoming a cult classic. I just wish I could see what my fellow critics are seeing. It's well done (building nicely to a surprise ending), the ensemble cast is solid as a rock (particularly Kevin Spacey), & I appreciated the intermittent bursts of humor & thrills. But 'The Usual Suspects' just isn't my thing, I guess.