A Gang Formed During A Police Lineup

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2009)

Five hoodlums are hauled into a police station in a dragnet roundup of The Usual Suspects that are brought in for questioning when something big breaks. Good chance any one or all could have been involved. If you remember in the film The Brink's Job, there is a scene where within a day a lot of Boston's known hoodlums are brought in for questioning. The dragnet brought in Stephen Baldwin, Bernicio DelToro, Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, and Kevin Pollak. From this motley crew a gang is born.
Flash forward to several years later when there is a horrific fire on board a freighter where there has been a gun battle with many deaths. Kevin Spacey managed to survive along with two others of the freighter crew and is being questioned in the police station by US Customs Agent Chazz Palmenteri and LA cop Dan Hedaya.
After a couple of other jobs, this crew winds up working for a criminal mastermind from the Balkans who is known as Keyser Sose who is known to be so ruthless that the criminal population itself is scared to death. This guy is spoken of like he was Satan himself and of course the police want him big time also.
I can't say much more because the plotting of The Usual Suspects is so intricate and filled with unexpected twists that to spoil this film would be a crime itself. Some here like Stephen Baldwin give their best performances on screen. Kevin Spacey won his first Oscar, this one in the Best Supporting Actor category. The category has me stumped because it's his character that's the key to the whole film. The other Oscar The Usual Suspects won was for Christopher McQuarrie for one highly original Screenplay.
The Usual Suspects has enough action for those who crave that, especially when we do see the final battle on that freighter and it's also some highly literate dialog for those who appreciate that. It's best compared to that granddaddy of all caper films The Asphalt Jungle, it's that good.