The Usual Suspects (film): I love this film but there are many that do not
What is it that creates such a big divide over this film? I have my suspicions that a lot of the opinion comes from some people could read the twist at the end coming from a mile away, other people (like me) had no idea. I think those that found the twist to be a complete surprise loved it and the other group was quite "me"
I have been very careful to avoid spoilers in this write-up. If you have already seen this movie I would appreciate if you do the same seeing as how the twist is major part of the story and it would be a tragic spoiler to reveal.
The movie is told from the perspective of someone who has already seen everything that happened. It is narrated for the most part by Roger "Verbal" Kint (played by the now disgraced Kevin Spacey.) He and one other person are the survivors of a massacre that happened on a boat in the San Pedro Bay. A NYC detective is flown in to interrogate "Verbal" about what happened on the boat and this is how the story is told - with various flashbacks to events that already occurred.
I feel as though the film was directed quite well by Bryan Singer and it is easy to forget that this is actually a narrated story as they seemlessly trail of Spacey's voice and allow the action to take over - if that makes any sense.
The characters are incredible and the story focuses mainly on the crew of 5 criminals with varying skills to contribute to their effectiveness as a heist team. These are the people in the main movie poster and unless I am mistaken they actually aren't ever referred to as "The Usual Suspects" in the film (prove me wrong.)
I think one of my favorite things about this film is Michael McManus who is played by Stephen Baldwin in one of the only good roles he has ever had the chance to play.
Stephen handles the role of a weapons expert and stealthy assassin as well as being just a cocky guy in general to a "T." Prior to this film he did independent films almost exclusively and not long after he returned to doing that again. I have no idea why but i have heard rumors that he is difficult to work with and is a bit of a religious nutjob.
I have a difficult time relating to why it is that someone wouldn't like this movie but I have spoken to several individuals who can't understand why anyone WOULD like it. I guess it is just a matter of opinion. I am on the former team and highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys crime thrillers that at least in my opinion, is directed really well and has an ending you don't expect.
I like this movie a LOT. I can watch it over and over.
For me, knowing the twist at the end does not change my enjoyment of the movie. It gives me more to look for and more to like.
8/10 I agree.
I like the narrated parts a lot.
How do you come up with what to review? Completely random?
kind of completely random. I sit and talk with people and if someone brings up a film that I have either already seen or recommends a new one i put it in a little notebook and write something about it later.
Thanks, cool!
Great film was shown out of competition at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and then initially released in a few theaters It received favorable reviews and was eventually given a wider release McQuarrie won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Spacey won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance The Writers Guild of America ranked the film as having the 35th greatest screenplay of all time
An awesome film and story and - in my opinion - the best film ever made by Bryan Singer ( I'm not much of a superhero movie fan ) with stellar performances.
What ruined the movie, at least for me, was the hype.
After this film came out, everybody in the world jumped on the hype train, calling this the best film of the year, holding it up as a paragon example of cinema, and one of the greatest movies they had ever seen.
By the time I got around to seeing it, it was already ruined for me. Not the twist, but you cannot heap that much praise on ANYTHING that became such a cultural icon and expect it to live up to the hype. It's a fine movie, the flaws are nitpicky at best, and it's got a powerhouse ensemble cast.
8/10 is perfectly respectable for what it accomplishes. Unfortunately if you go into it expecting a 15/10, you're going to be disappointed when it "under-performs" in your mind. That's what happened to me (well, that and my own personal dislike of the 'unreliable narrator' trope of storytelling, but that's on me).
It's a fine film, very much worth watching, but I guarantee that most people who talk down on the film do so because they're either trying to be Edgelords who can't stand anything remotely popular, or they had expectations the film couldn't possibly meet. :)
It's a great film. Unfortunately Spacey and Bryan Singer both turned out to be pedos in real life.
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I liked this movie
Story telling was amazing and ofcourse the unexpected twist.
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I like the movie but it is one of those movies you watch once and the second time it is not close as good as the first time as it lives so much from its ending.
It's an excellent movie, what I did not like is that it only has a powerful effect the first time, that is, all the movies too, but this, like all those that have surprising twists, are even more dependent. It's like Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock, the biggest effect is on the first time you see it. Still, it's a great movie.