"I can't feel my legs....Keyzer"

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2000)

This movie is one of the 10 best ever made. I don't mean entertaining, I don't mean shock, I don't mean thrilling, I mean BEST. I have seen many classic thrillers, but none of them are as beautifully crafted as the Usual Suspects. Without a doubt the best movie of the 90's. The movie starts with a bang--in this first scene, which takes place "last night", on a gasoline soaked, dead body-ridden boat which looks like it could go up in flames at any minute. Keaton is lying on the ground smoking a cigarette. A mysterious stranger approaches him:
Keyzer: "How ya doing, Keaton?" Keaton: "I can't feel my legs....Keyzer" Keyzer: "You ready?" Keaton: "What time is it?" Keyzer: "It's 12:30"
You hear 2 shots, and the match is lit that sets the boat ablaze. As the mysterious stranger gets off the boat, it blows up.
And so the tale begins. A tale of five known criminals; Hockney, McManus, Fenster, Keaton, and Kint, who get set up by the police and end up plotting a scheme together. A tale of a cop, agent Kujan, who is Keaton's arch nemesis, and wants to make sure Keaton is dead. A tale of a petty thug cripple, Kint, who gets pulled in over his head and tells the entire story of what happened after the setup to Kujan. And finally, a tale of the mysterious drug lord Keyzer Soze who no one really knows about, but who seems to be pulling strings for the 5 criminals, for a purpose no one quite knows why.
The problem with the public opinion of this movie is that people focus too, too much on the ending, it's faults, it's qualities, etc. The ending, which I will not spoil for you, is great, and puts the finishing touches on one hell of a thriller. But the ending is not what makes the movie great, aside from the way it is handled. What makes the movie great are: 1. The performances by Pollack, Palmentieri, Postlethwaite, Baldwin, Del Toro, Byrne, and above all Spacey 2. The incredible twists and turns through the plot 3. The scenes masterfully crafted by rookie director Bryan Singer (which shows us some of the best movie direction since the Kubrick era, especially with the line-up scene) 4. The incredible score, which makes the intensity of the movie rise with every scene. 5. The way the last scene is handled--which is probably one of the 5 best scenes in movie history
This movie is the best of the 90's--and probably one of the 10 best ever. See it.