A intelligent, stylish, two-hour fraud

Rating: 9/10 (9 August 1999)

That's right! For two hours, that's all this film does is lie to you. But that's the best thing about it. "The Usual Suspects" has a fabulous cast that puts forth superb performances. Kevin Spacey (who won an Oscar), Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollock, Benicio Del Toro (oh, is he great to watch) and Gabriel Byrne are all spectacular as the criminals. (How they are brought together is a classic line-up scene). There are some great action scenes, some great suspense surrounding the identity of criminal master mind Keyser Soze (a myth destined to be a classic), a clever script (which also won an Oscar) and tight, stylish direction by Bryan Singer. Wow, what a great film! You really need to see it, just to appreciate all the lies and style.
Post-Script: You won't find out till the end that everything you have just seen is a lie. But don't worry, you won't feel cheated!