The end of this movie is so brilliant that it makes the rest of the film worse for the wear. It also makes it pretty boring to watch more than once, which unfortunately I did in order to review it. A waterfront explosion leaves many criminals dead. The police find two survivors: a badly burnt, most-wanted Hungarian who keeps repeating the name Keyser Soze and a crippled con-artist named Verbal Klint (Kevin Spacey). As the police question Klint on what happened, he tells the story of five career-criminals, including himself, (the usual suspects) brought in for a lineup after a crime they didn't commit. They end up banding together and eventually find themselves forced into the employment of the dangerous and mysterious Keyser Soze.
Stephan Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro, and Kevin Pollack play the other 4 usual suspects, all just distinct enough in their roles. Pete Postlethwaite is plenty sinister as Soze's number two, Mr. Kobayashi. Chazz Palminteri is what you'd expect as the borderline obsessive detective trying to figure out what happened on the boat that exploded. Kevin Spacey is his usual confident self as Klint, our flashback narrator.
That story Klint tells is long, violent, and often a bit confusing. The good news is if the story confuses you, it doesn't matter. I can't tell you why without ruining anything, but it is ok to be confused.
Rating: 2/5
Recommended for: People who like paying attention to a movie for only ten minutes. (I'd recommend the last ten.)
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1 comment:
I did like this movie, but I agree that it is the end of the movie that makes it work. The rest of the movie, in truth, is just one long setup.
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