Surprising ending with little behind it

Rating: 3/10 (13 June 2000)

Just about everyone agrees that the surprise ending to "The Usual Suspects" is very satisfying, as is Kevin Spacey's performance as the pathetic yet strangely-likeable Verbal Kint. Unfortunately, I found that there is little else to be enjoyed.
All in all, the cast's performances were not all that superb. Spacey is an exception, but that's nothing new. The story itself is well written, but not very interesting. It's conceivable that the cast would be seen as fulfilling the characters well precisely because the characters themselves are so vague. The screenwriter makes sure to lay the idiosyncrasies on thick without allowing us to know the characters and better understand their quirks. Naturally, there's only a given amount of depth that can be accomplished in an hour and a half, but "The Usual Suspects" still barely reaches that.
So while I would recommend this film for Spacey and the ending, I don't think its worth waiting around for 80+ minutes of ho-hum "gritty crime drama" to get to all the scenes where he really shines and where the script isn't so dull.