Good, but not THAT good

Rating: 7/10 (12 January 2005)

For some reason, I didn't get round to seeing this film until quite recently (just one of those weird things). I was excited to finally see it since I'd heard so many people rave about it, but I have to say I was somewhat disappointed. Without question it is an entertaining, surprising, and well-acted film, but I can't see why it gets quite such high ratings on here.
Kevin Spacey does a fine job of playing the part of Verbal, and Gabriel Byrne is okay too, but otherwise there were no outstanding performances. Similarly, while the plot was clever, it was nothing that amazing, and I saw the twists coming a mile off. Unlike something like Reservoir Dogs, which gave the gangster film a much-needed injection of not taking itself seriously, the crims in The Usual Suspects are just the typical bad-boys-who-fancy-themselves. Also, maybe Americans can accept Pete Postlethwaite's bizarre accent and make-up, but for me it really detracted from the film - what WAS he supposed to be? Indian??? If so, why on earth didn't they get an Asian actor? Sorry, I don't mean to slag off a film that I know a lot of people really like, I'm just giving my honest opinions. I suspect if I'd seen it when it came out, I too would have found it an amazing groundbreaking piece of cinema, but IMHO it hasn't really stood the test of time.
Still, it was a decent way to pass a couple of hours, so I've given it 7/10.