When five unassociated criminals are pulled into a police lineup they begin talking and decide to work together on a job. But when the job goes sideways the crew scrambles to fix things while, against reason and odds, they continue to get worse for some reason.
Stephen Baldwin (McManus), Gabriel Byrne (Keaton), Benicio Del Toro (Fenster), Kevin Pollak (Hockney), Kevin Spacey (Roger “Verbal”), Chazz Palminteri (Dave Kujan), Pete Postlethwaite (Kobayashi), Peter Greene (Redfoot).
The Usual Suspects begins well, building intrigue almost from the beginning. The story flows well and includes plenty of detail which keeps it quite interesting. Further along we begin to realize there is more to the story and the excitement becomes trying to figure out the ending despite plenty of misdirection. The film finally finishes with nicely done ending that may surprise more than a few.
Acting was very good and quite diverse in this one given the experience of the main cast, two Oscar wins, and almost thirty other awards. Spacey did a wonderful job in his role which was somewhat complex. Baldwin felt like a punk as usual, and Del Toro brought his wonderfully strange energy once again. Byrne did nicely as defacto leader of the group. Palminteri did well at playing a cop as always while Postlethwaite did well as a strange instigator of sorts. Greene was also a good addition to the film.
Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were all well done with good quality and attention to detail. Physical effects had a nice realistic feel to them and punctuated the film well. Dialogue was very enjoyable throughout the film. Sound and soundtrack were both good.
Overall The Usual Suspects is a very enjoyable film with excellent acting, an engaging plot, and well done technical work. If you have any interest at all in crime thrillers or mysteries make sure to check this one out.
With violence and foul language, this should be fine for older teens and above.
Released: 1995
Reviewed: 5.21.14
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Thrillers, Independent Movies, Crime Thrillers, Independent Thrillers, Mysteries
copyright ©2014 Don
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