Seeing is believing

Rating: 10/10 (7 June 2006)

I set the spoiler button, actually in a sense nearly every review here is a spoiler apart from the ones that just say "best film ever, watch it", but this one doesn't really contain any detailed spoilers.
Is this the best film ever? I'm inclined to say not, but I can't immediately think of something I'd rate more highly, and certainly none of the 14 which are higher in the IMDb ratings - The Empire Strikes Back? C'mon :) I am beginning to think that Kevin Spacey may be the best actor ever, and he definitely has an amazing knack for picking the right films.
Actually I've only just watched the film for the first time, and I'm not sure that really qualifies me to review it, my immediate reaction is to want to watch it again immediately (it's sitting on a hard disk recorder so maybe I'll do just that - or indeed buy the DVD).
I have to say that long experience of tricky films did lead me to guess the "famous" twist, at least as a possibility, but I don't think it made much difference to the surprise, and as everyone says the way it plays out is something special. Actually I think the only film which ever fooled me totally was Vertigo, and the Usual Suspects definitely bears favourable comparison with Hitchcock.
I'm not sure it really makes much sense to review the film in detail, you just have to watch it. Lovers of mindless action adventures may not enjoy it, although there may be enough to keep them amused, and if you don't like complicated plots or (as one reviewer complained) films which try to confuse and fool you then maybe this isn't for you - although some people probably don't realise just how thoroughly they have been fooled! One of the few other bad reviews here complains about the violence; it's true that there is some, but not much by modern standards. There is also a fair amount of bad language, so the easily-shocked should steer clear.
On the other hand, anyone who likes Hitchcock, who likes having to think, who has seen a lot of films and can appreciate all the trickery and the sheer attention to detail which has gone into this, will get a lot out of it - and I suspect more the second time, and the third ... this is just an immaculately-crafted film which works on many levels.
Bottom line: like everyone else says, just watch it!