"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didnt excist".

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2018)

"The Usual Suspects" launched Kevin Spacey's carreer into stardom instantly. He won an oscar for his magnificent role, but the story itself is the true star of this movie. Not many stories have had this influence and power over the imagination of the public as "The Usual Suspects" has had. It is intriguing till the very end. And when the plot is revealed at the end, it is chillingly exciting and satisfying to find out the truth. In a poll on IMDb, the movie was voted as having the best plot twist, beating out The Sixth Sense (1999). Kevin Spacey had to read the script twice when he first received it, to make sure he fully understood it.
It is an intelligent movie, made on a shoestring budget back then. Shot in only 35 days. That's truly minimal. It had gotten only a limited release in America, because it wasnt expected to do very well. How wrong could they have been! Never underestimate the intelligence of the audience. This is one of those movies that grew bigger and more popular long after its release, just by word of mouth reviews.
I had to watch this movie at least 3 times before I really understood HOW I was being tricked into NOT knowing who the mysterious crimeboss Kayser Soze was. That trick is pulled off very simple. But the most clever cons are often the simplest ones.
What is this fascinating story about? Without giving away any spoilers I can safely tell you that Kayser Soze is a mysterious crimeboss who no one has ever seen, but who every criminal fears. In this story Kayser Soze orders 5 criminals to do a heist on a docked ship in the harbor, which is full of cocaine. The criminals refuse at first, but they are blackmailed into doing the heist anyway. Will the 5 crinminals survive the heist on the ship? And who is Kayser Soze anyway?
Reading my own written synopsis of the story above I must confess it doesnt sound mysterious at all. Sounds rather childish. But wait till you'll see the movie, which really has had an immense power to fascinate audiences worldwide.
Acting is great! Debut of Benicio del Toro. Superb role of Gabriel Byrne and Chaz Palminteri. Photography and editing are masterful. Soundtrack is mysterious. And the direction by Brian Singer was just pure excellence. Writer Cristopher McQuarrie got an oscar. But both director and writer went on to make only mediocre action movies after this first huge succes at the beginning of their careers. Well at least they gave us this mysterious gem, which I must have seen over 20 times by now and I still get a kick out of it. What a thrill of a mystery!