THE USUAL SUSPECTS is a con job within a set-up within a masquerade. Few films before or since have played its cards so audaciously yet brilliantly with audiences, and fewer still have the staying power to remain exciting to audiences after they've laid down their hand on the table.
A surface scan of its plot finds a physically afflicted petty crook Verbal Kint (Oscar-winning Supporting Actor Kevin Spacey) under interrogation by US Customs Agent Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) about a $91 million drug deal gone wrong, leaving a couple dozen bodies next to a burned-out freighter in the LA harbor. With Kint as the only apparent survivor of the massacre, and an immunity deal in his pocket, this interrogation is Kujan's last chance to learn the truth behind who pulled the job, who busted in on the deal, and most importantly who masterminded this bloodbath.
 Kint's tale unspools in flashbacks which find reformed criminal Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) in a police line-up with four other career thieves and thugs: McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), Hockney (Kevin Pollack) and Kint. Despite Keaton's apparent success in going straight and resurrecting his life with his lawyer girlfriend (Suzy Amis), he's effectively blackmailed into 'one last job' to get out from under the thumb of the mysterious, perhaps mythical crime overlord Keyser Soze. Soze is the murderous bogeyman of the underworld whom no one has ever seen: some consider him pure fiction while others live in terror of Soze's wrath. A member of the latter group is Kint himself, who warns his partners in crime not to cross Soze if they expect to survive their deadly assignment, delivered unto them by Soze's enigmatic go-between Kobayashi (excellent Pete Postlethwaite).
Beyond this synopsis, which barely scratches the surface of the story, awaits spoilers and FilmEdge refuses to ruin THE USUAL SUSPECTS for any who have not enjoyed it for themselves. Recapping it for those in-the-know is pointless except to remind them of Singer's brain-bending hit and likely inspire them to watch it all over again. Pick from the film's wealth of riches: a top-notch cast, a script with straight-razor wit, or a young director's brass-balls cinematic style; but whichever asset motivates you, let THE USUAL SUSPECTS enthrall you for the first of the fifteenth time. Either way, it will end up as a favorite in your Top Films rotation at home.
BLU-RAY PRESENTATION
While the Blu-ray transfer results are fine, typical of this MGM/Fox Digibook release the film presentation is nothing new either. Newton Thomas Sigel's original 2.35:1 widescreen image is preserved in all its well-shot glory, though this 1080p repeats the film's previous MPEG-2 @ 20 MBPS single layer transfer, exploiting only half a Blu disc's storage potential. With bonus features nearly non-existent on the disc (more on this below), the lack of a new higher rate, double layer transfer is egregious to say the least, and certainly offers those who already own a prior BD version not to upgrade with this release since no actual upgrading of film presentation quality is being offered.
The English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound track is definitely serviceable considering THE USUAL SUSPECTS was never designed as a surround sound-exploiting feature, but the mix puts your ears in the film as effectively as the action and plotting keep you involved. Spanish and French Dolby Surround tracks are offered along with English SDH and Spanish subtitles in the minimal language setup.
BLU-RAY BONUS FEATURES
The devil's greatest trick may have been to convince the world he didn't exist, but not far behind on his list of cons is making MGM/Fox Home Entertainment re-release THE USUAL SUSPECTS with zero bonus features, aside from a small collection of Trailers including the film's original theatrical preview plus an odd selection of other trailers promoting recent MGM library releases on Blu-ray. Not even pre-existing featurettes or specials from prior releases are repeated just to fill up the Blu disc — though such glaring omissions may be due to licensing rights issues with MGM itself as it re-emerges into healthier studio status reviving its wealth of previous titles. Such technicalities aside, this bare-bones edition offering nothing new for SUSPECTS itself may give all but those upgrading from DVD or VHS pause in purchasing.
The Digibook packaging is handsome to be sure, but it amounts to little more than a picturebook of publicity materials filled with production photos with overprinted quotes from the script. A short essay The Unusual Allure of The Usual Suspects by Richard Tanne is a decent primer on the film for new initiates, but it won't hold the attention or reveal any new insights on the film for anyone who has viewed it even once — even its author seems unsure how to explain THE USUAL SUSPECT's surprise longevity and ever-growing reputation beyond repeating the question and offering up supposings on obvious factors which account for its storytelling and critical success. A few pages of Cast Bios and Credits follow, along with a short, already outdated credit list for director Singer. The short blurb Unusual Trivia isn't very unusual but it's certainly a trivial addition to the Digibook content, since a few entries duplicate those in the film's IMDB entry online. Travis Baker's short essay Spoiler Alert: The Ending That Shook the World simply recaps the impact of the film's plot-twisting gotcha moment in the reveal of Keyser Soze's actual identity, but offers no original analysis of this audience-fooling con game by the filmmakers. Instead it merely places SUSPECT's shock surprise in the historical context of other such twist-filled films and confirms that, yeah, these cinematic mindblowers are fun to watch and often embraced by audiences who love be victims of and in on the joke.
REVIEW SUMMARY
FilmEdge cannot fault Bryan Singer's legendary resurrection of film noire mystery and gangster cinema, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, but we have a difficult time recommending this latest MGM/Fox release on Blu-ray due to its criminal lack of film presentation upgrades or on-disc bonus features. If you don't already own SUSPECTS from a prior BD release, this edition will deliver the same HD version already available so you can't lose in strict terms of film viewing alone. But only the most devoted fans and collectors will add this Limited Edition Digibook package given how stripped down the actual disc content is. To clarify our rating: FilmEdge gives THE USUAL SUSPECTS film itself an enthusiastic 5 stars, but we knock off 2 stars for this minimalist re-release which adds only a few printed pages to the film's legacy in home entertainment terms.
|
cemented its reputation as a neo-noire landmark and one of the best films to emerge from that decade. When an unlikely band of criminals take on a dangerous heist job for a mysterious underworld legend, there will be blood, betrayal and a boatload of plot twists in the thrilling finale.