Predicatble twist.
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Usual Suspects
mjstokes85 — 10 years ago(May 03, 2015 02:05 PM)
First off, I was fooled by Fight Club, I never saw the twist, I was fooled by Primal Fear, I never saw it coming, but after just watching The Usual Suspects for the first time I feel massively let down.
It was ridiculously obvious who it was and who he was working in conjunction with.
The moment Mr Kobayashi walked in with the briefcase of documents on them it was game over, so obvious. This made the rest of the film a bit of a bore knowing the fake cripple was behind it all.
I think it's a decent film, great acting and a good intricate plot, but it was all far too obvious.
Did anyone else think this? -
Stratego — 10 years ago(May 03, 2015 03:37 PM)
I think that now, in 2015, the twist is more obvious than in 1995, which has a lot to do with other roles played by Kevin Spacey and the flood of twist movies that came about in the late 90s. But you're not gonna tell me that you knew that most of the movie was a lie based on information on a bulletin board. Because Verbal being Soze is only half of the twist. And some people even believe Verbal wasn't Soze, but just a henchman, supported by statements made by director and cast.
But even if you know the twist, I don't consider it a bore, because it's fun to figure out what really happened or not. Who knows what role "Kobayashi" really played in all of this?
Primal Fear was VERY obvious by the way, and didn't have enough other redeeming qualities in my opinion. -
tlw013-1 — 10 years ago(May 10, 2015 02:44 PM)
I think the bulletin board was just fluff and window dressing for the reveal. There no way to figure that out in advance because the audience doesn't get to look it over before the Agent man does. It's basically why a person can't figure out the "who did it" details of aSherlock Holmes mystery because the reader isn't privy to all the information as the story unfolds.
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Stratego — 10 years ago(May 10, 2015 04:06 PM)
There no way to figure that out in advance because the audience doesn't get to look it over before the Agent man does
However, the audience could get that the movie was only a story told by one character to another character and was perhaps not entirely true. But I think most of the audience would not get that. -
ronniehrubin — 10 years ago(August 28, 2015 02:55 PM)
I just love this movie; it's one of my 5 favorite suspense films ever! However, there is one, in my opinion, plot hole that needs to be cleared up. At the end of the burning ship scene, it seems that Soze had plenty of time to get away. I don't remember hearing any police or emergency services sirens in the background. If this is true, why was Soze in jail? If he gets away, there's no chance of getting caught which might cause him to be found out. Let me know your thoughts on this.
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mjstokes85 — 10 years ago(May 04, 2015 11:27 AM)
Thank you for the reply. Since posting this and reading up more I think I need to see the film again. I take your point about Verbal being behind it is only half the twist and I can see that actually I have missed a hell of a lot with only having seen this once. Definitely a film I need to see again.
I also take your point with Primal Fear but it fooled me. -
c_rys — 9 years ago(April 17, 2016 03:36 AM)
Hey, definitely get where you're coming from mjstokes, can't judge myself as I knew the twist long before I ever saw the movie. Just wanted to say I've enjoyed your thread a lot, thanks for making some interesting points & I admire you for your humility here! Love the film, by the way, personally.
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tlw013-1 — 10 years ago(May 10, 2015 02:41 PM)
I just watched it and was underwhelmed entirely. The movie was ok but nothing special. I didn't figure out the twist as early on as you but I did see it coming and had it figured out before the beginning of the boat fight.
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CharteredStreets — 10 years ago(June 02, 2015 02:55 PM)
I remember watching this in high school, I was maybe 12 or 13, which places it about 1999-2000 (I despair). I didn't know it had a twist - I hadn't seen many movies with big twists, and it was before the Keyser Soze effect kicked in and every movie tried to tack one on. At the time, it knocked me out. I showed it to all my friends, keeping quiet, and none of them guessed the twist either. It was an early lesson in not telling people a movie has a twist; nowadays I'm always guessing where movies are going (including in the cases of Fight Club and Primal Fear that the OP mentions). I can't remember the last time I was really surprised by one. Watching it now it doesn't seem as impressive as when I first saw it, but it still holds up well. I'm pretty sure if I saw it for the first time I'd guess the twist now - particularly if I'd known, as far too many people do before seeing it, that it has one.
If I have to tell you again, we're gonna take it outside and I'm gonna show you what it's like! -
Fluffis — 10 years ago(June 03, 2015 06:10 PM)
When it came out, most people didn't know it
had
a twist.
It also pre-dated the widespread use of Internet and forums that could spoil things.
This movie is really the first big twist-movie of the wave of twist-movies that started in the late 90's. It's not a surprise that people nowadays can see the twist more easily, since the style of twist (unreliable narrator) has been done so many times since - for instance in Fight Club.
Most of the times, however, they rely on a more "straight" twist, so to speak. Here, the unreliable narrator is telling his unreliable story to people in the movie as well as to us, making the narration not just unreliable but meta as well.
Ironically, in a way, this movie is most likely responsible for you being able to figure out the twist beforehand.
Quidquid Latinae dictum sit, altum viditur. -
Stratego — 10 years ago(January 07, 2016 04:55 PM)
The Crying Game is from 1992, I wouldn't count that in with the "wave of twist-movies that started in the late 90's". In that case, we could also count Presumed Innocent from 1990 or No Way Out from 1987. There have always been movies with a twist. I agree with the poster that The Usual Suspects could be considered the start of a whole wave of that sort of movies, which was even more impacted by The Sixth Sense.
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!!!deleted!!! (2212087) — 10 years ago(June 27, 2015 11:54 PM)
I saw this at the cinema when it first came out. I didn't guess the ending. As I saw it at the cinema, I was caught up in it. Additionally, it was a Friday night after a full week's work, a heavy meal and a couple of glasses of wine, so I was rather tired.
However, I loved it and insisted my brother watch it. So we did, on DVD, and he really enjoyed it, but he guessed the ending. The showoff also anticipated the ending of "The Sixth Sense" saying that it reminded him of the short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce, which at time I hadn't read.
I perhaps come from a family of Sherlock Holmes, but the gene skipped me. I know my mum never read any Agatha Christie (but she did read a lot oh mystery type books), but any whodunnit she watched, she always knew who was guilty. -