The Usual Suspects: Good But Overrated

Cover of The Usual Suspects (Special Editon)

I finally saw The Usual Suspects. I know I must be ashamed of myself, being a movie nut and all. All I can say in my defense is that, there are a lot of movies: good and bad, and it is easy to get lost. I liked the movie overall, but too much hype is not a good thing. The movie was rated 8.7 in IMDB- when nearly 250.000 people vote for a movie and the results is 8.7, it means most people loved it. While, of course this doesn’t neccesarily mean that you will enjoy the movie, it suggests that there is a big chance you will like it.

I had fun. It had a decent script and incredible acting, mostly hats off to Kevin Spacey and Gabril Byrne. It was interesting to see Benicio Del Toro so young, thin and almost feminine- and with such a heavy accent that I needed subtitles just for him. While not all characters were impresively developed and the dialogue was not all that great (except for Spacey’s lines) , certain parts of the plot were just brilliant.

The story follows 5 criminals (Kevin Pollack, Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro and Stephen Baldwin) thrown into a cell together. The cops apparently suspect of a big thing and these criminals all excel at what they do. Although Dean Keaton (Byrn) seems to have gone “straight” (as in “off” the criminal life), he finds himself involved in plotting with these guys: The tough and temperamental McManus (Baldwin), the smart and quite cripple Verbal ( Spacey), the not so remarkable Hockney (Pollack) and the colorful Fenster (Del Toro). Keaton is not all that willing to go back into his old ways, since he seems to be happily settled down with his lawyer girlfriend. But one plan follows another, and the gang finds themselves way over their heads…

Actually the movie’s pace and the scripts parts are very different in levels. I can’t seem to think the movie as a whole. It has its 10/10 moments and it has the 5/10- oh-so-average moments and some slow parts where you just hang on for the promise of a better developments, which follow shortly after.

I’d gladly give it a 7 but to consider it as one of the best films ever? That would be quite an overstatement. I can count at least 3 Kevin Spacey movies that are more amazing than this one.

And  yeah, I am ready to face the heat from the hardcore fans…