Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

slightlymad22 Continuing my plan to watch every Tom Cruise movie in order, I come to The Firm (1993)Plot In A Paragraph: Young lawyerMitch McDeere (Cruise) joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.After two underperforming movies in a row, Cruise is back with two back to back big hits. Personally I think this is a little too long. This is a really good movie with some great performances, but it should have been a great movie. I don't have a problem with long movies (I actually prefer them) but this movie didn't warrant such a long run time. With a bit of trimming and a tighter screenplay this would be a classic.This features a great Crusie performance Gene Hackman is his usual brilliant self Hal Holbrook is as reliable as always, Ed Harris is very disturbing looking with his bald head, Wifred Burnley makes a surprisingly convincing bad guy. Jeanne Tripplehorn is fine, Gary Busey has a role as a very small role as a private eye, and Paul Sorvino has an even smaller one. Holly Hunter was Oscar nominated for her small role. The Firm grossed $158million at the domestic box office, to end the year the 4th highest grossing movie of 1993.

George Wright The Firm is a major disappointment, lacking the drama and characters that are such a strong part of the book. From the start, we get little appreciation of the characters, particularly Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise), the Harvard trained lawyer from the wrong side of the tracks who hopes to live his version of the American Dream. He joins a law firm in Memphis with an offer that is quite literally too good to be true. When he realizes he is in a nest of vipers, he finds himself in a no win situation between the law firm and the FBI, which has been trying to bring the firm to justice. The soft jazzy music throughout this "thriller" is an constant irritant that only lengthens the boredom of this tiresome piece of film-making. I was misled by the page turner of a book by John Grisham that gave readers so much entertainment back in the early 1990's. Tom Cruise is too much the movie celebrity to fit the role of Mitch McDeere. Gene Hackman has a key role as his mentor but doesn't fit the bill either. To me he is always Popeye Doyle from the French Connection movies. I did find Wilford Brimley and Ed Harris, on opposite sides of the organized crime machine vs. the law, to be the most convincing, although their performances were lost in this forgettable movie. By all means, read the book but take a pass on the movie.

Lechuguilla A hotshot young lawyer named Mitch (Tom Cruise ... who else would Hollywood cast as a hotshot?) accepts a job with a small law firm in Memphis, only to become trapped in a nightmarish maze of deceit and corruption. The plot has Mitch a little slow to catch on, but when he does he draws upon inner cleverness he previously lacked to set a trap himself.The script has several problems, not the least of which is Mitch's naivete when accepting the job. He tells his wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn): "These are nice people, Abby". Turns out that Abby is more perceptive about these "nice people" than her high-income, hotshot hubby. The plot's first half is pretty good, with fine editing; the second half trends labyrinthine with tangled and convoluted plot elements that make the film hard to follow.Fast-paced, outdoor "action" towards the end is unrealistic and makes the film overly long. Most of the characters consist of annoying "beautiful people", hip, sophisticated, and rich; I was hoping most of them would die.Production values are terrific. Great on-location filming in Memphis is enhanced by polished outdoor photography. Interior sets look detailed and realistic. Nice, jazzy score if perhaps a bit loud. Casting is credible, though someone other than Tom Cruise might have brought more plausibility to the lead role. Performances overall add to a sense of professionalism. Hal Holbrook is always fun to watch. And I really liked Holly Hunter's performance as a two-bit smoking secretary with a heavy Southern drawl.Slick and sophisticated, "The Firm" was made during an era when audiences were still mesmerized with American wealth and corruption. It's a polished, perhaps too polished, production. Overall, the movie does have entertainment value despite an imperfect script.

Gretchen A tight and adroit thriller about a lawyer who must walk a treacherous path between a rock and a hard place. Tom Cruise is captivating throughout and complimented by a talented cast, including Gene Hackman as a Firm senior who sees in him a potential for redemption. Only a face like Cruise's could convince us that a lawyer could swim through an ocean of excrement and come out smelling of roses. In support of his integrity is the relationship he has with his wife, the doe-eyed Jeanne Tripplehorn, where honesty triumphs over mollification. Cruise and David Strathairn, unwittingly I think, manage to reproduce the recovering affection of the fraternal relationship seen in 'Rain Man'. The appeal of this movie, which incessantly brings us throughout all the delightful intricacies of a John Grisham novel, is that McDeere (Cruise) is not only likable but credible. Even at his most incensed he remains nothing less nor more than an incredibly desperate man fighting for his existence, and his life.If you enjoy a more cerebral thriller and wit with your grit you won't be disappointed by The Firm.