The Usual Suspects (1995)

Andres Gomez December 21, 2015

★ 8/10

Great movie with superb performance from Kevin Spacey, well accompanied with the rest of the cast.

John Chard May 9, 2020

★ 10/10

Keaton always said, "I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him." Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze. The Usual Suspects is directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It stars Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey, Kevin Pollack, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite, Giancarlo Esposito and Dan Hedaya. Music is by John Ottman and cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel. Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint (Spacey) attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. It sort of sidled into movie theatres in 1995 with no fanfare or heralded notices. Yet it wasn't long before word of m…

The Movie Mob September 17, 2022

★ 6/10

**A clever twist and heavy fan support are the only stand-out aspects of this average heist film.** Bloggers, reviews, and friends hyped The Usual Suspects for years before I finally watched it, and it was ok. The movie had a pretty clever plot twist that the entire film was building towards from the beginning. Unfortunately, without the twist, the film is pretty mediocre. Brute force characterized the heists over clever planning. Keyser Söze's brilliant manipulation of the characters around him seems less mastermind and more taking advantage of criminals that aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. Many people would disagree with me, but The Usual Suspects rates average at best for me.

Filipe Manuel Neto November 28, 2022

★ 9/10

**A film that deserves to be revisited and remembered.** I think it's unfair that this movie seems to be so forgotten nowadays, but maybe that's because of the intricate plot, loaded with flashbacks. I can understand that, but I think there are even more confusing films out there that have never gone out of style. Anyway, it's a quality film, with good actors and a story, to say the least, intriguing. A small note: the film took home both Oscars for which it was nominated (Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor). It all starts when a group of men, apparently random, is taken by the police to participate in a line-up. What seems at first very casual, is not: all of them were criminals well known to the authorities, and most particularly one of them, who was also a policeman and seemed to have retired from crime and to be living an honest life. After this opening scene, t…

Nathan May 16, 2023

★ 6/10

Upon watching The Usual Suspects, I was initially excited to see what all the hype was about however, I found the film to be somewhat of a letdown. That being said, I do think that there were some strong aspects to the movie. From a technical standpoint, The Usual Suspects was quite impressive. The camera direction by Bryan Singer was particularly noteworthy, especially given that this was only his second full-length feature film. Where the movie fell short for me was in the writing. While the dialogue and overall story were intriguing, the way they were executed left much to be desired. In particular, the first act of the film was disjointed and difficult to follow. The audience was thrown right into the middle with the suspected criminals, with little information given about their backstories or their connections to one another. As new characters were introduced, the plot became …

drystyx May 18, 2023

★ 8/10

SUPERNATURAL THRILLER Director Singer and writer McQuarrie won't admit that it's a supernatural thriller, and insist it's just the goofy Hollywood movie it appears to be at first, but a few viewings will let you know that it is indeed a supernatural thriller. The story centers around five criminals who think they are gods, and therein lies the first clue to this being a sueprnatural thriller. Also, one of the men, Keaton, played by a Judd Hirsch look alike named Gabriel Byrne, is making a deal, along with his lawyer girlfriend, with some men in a high level restaurant. Upon a few viewings, you will realize that these men are not what they seem, because the lady lawyer eventually is seen making a "deal with the devil". The "devil" is known to the five men as a character called "Kaiser". The allusions to Caesar (which the word "kaiser" comes from) is a biblical reference to a superna…

CinemaSerf August 27, 2023

★ 8/10

A true masterpiece of the crime genre! Five usual suspects are rounded up by the police to take part in an identity parade following a New York heist. It's clear that they had nothing to do with it, but when pitched together decide that they will avenge themselves on the NYPD. Their scheme progresses well until the intervention of international super-criminal "Keyser Söze" via his debonaire but menacing agent "Mr. Kobayashi" (a superb Pete Posthlethwaite) and soon it becomes clear that the police are not the only people who are the targets here. It's told in a clever, retrospective, narrative style with some great performances from Kevin Spacey and Gabriel Byrne that leaves us pondering just who is "Söze" and to deal with an ending that you"ll never forget!

fkuk1214 February 18, 2025

Such a masterpiece in the film culture 🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♂️