The Firm

From the writers who wrote the screenplay based on John Grishman's novel, to casting, music, cinematography, and props, this is a superlative film, with impeccable acting. This dramatic story offers depth and a completeness and complexity that is rarely seen.

The Firm isn't a bad movie, but it isn't a really good one either. I really wonder why they had to put all those unnecessary action scenes in it. Several times I had the feeling that in the next shot, Tom Cruise would start flying like Superman or driving around in the Batmobile. OK, that's perhaps a little bit over the top, but I really thought that the movie would have been so much better without all the action. Does that mean the movie wasn't any good? No, it certainly had some good parts. I'm not going to tell which of course, that you'll have to find out for yourself. And Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman are fine actors of course, no doubt about that, but it was just too predictable and unbelievable. As a conclusion I would like to say that it certainly had potential and from time to time there was a lot of suspense, but they should have made it more believable. A lawyer isn't Superman with a far more than average IQ. I give it a 6/10.

It is not all that often that one finds a very well crafted, well acted legal and crime drama like The Firm. First rate cast, well written and fast moving story and lots of twists and turns to keep the viewer interested. Certainly worth the time to watch this one.

Jonathan Grisham had two books turned into movies in 1993, with the other being The Pelican Brief. This one is directed by Sydney Pollack and has a pretty big cast between Tom Cruise, Holly Hunter, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Paul Sorvino, Gary Busey and Hal Holbrook. Mitch McDeere (Cruise) is ready to graduate from Harvard when he gets an offer from small Memphis attorneys Bendini, Lambert & Locke. They ask for strict loyalty and confidentiality. They charge their clients high fees, which Mitch loves, because he gets an amazing house, a new car and his student loans all paid off. He learns the secret that not all of their clients are legal, so Wilfred Brimley gets him laid and uses the photos to keep him in line. Cruise's character, however, can't deal with it all and decides to go to the feds, who are just as shady as the criminals. In the original script, Mitch is killed. Once Cruise signed on, the ending changed. That's how things work in Hollywood.

THE FIRM (1993) *** Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Ed Harris, Gary Busey, Holly Hunter, Wilford Brimley, David Strathairn, Steven Hill. Young, hungry law school grad is accepted into lucrative law firm that turns out to be more than he bargained for. Fine adaptation of John Grisham's best seller with a strong supporting cast (including Hunter who garnered a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nom) to boot as well as Cruise's patented cocky performance. Paul Sorvino has an unbilled cameo and Joe Viterelli, who would go on in the latter part of the decade excelling as comic tough guys in films such as `Bullets Over Broadway' and `Analyze This'.