Keyser Soze is a crimekingpin who directs the actions of five small-time criminals. With the promise of$91 million and the opportunity to keep their lives, Keyser sends the five on afool's errand: to stop a competitor's huge cocaine sale that would interfere withKeyser's own drug operation. As the film opens, we see the shattering results ofthe mission.

The band of unlucky criminals includes Dean Keaton (GabrielByrne), Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey), Hockney (Kevin Pollak), McManus (StephenBaldwin) and Fenster (Benicio Del Toro). Kint, the sole survivor, is interrogatedby U.S. Customs Agent Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) about the crime, and the remainderof the movie shows us the tale he tells.

"The Usual Suspects"puts a lot of twists on the crime drama, and it's one of the best movies you'llsee. All the actors nail their parts; just listening to Del Toro and Spacey isworth watching the movie.

Sometimes, though, the movie gets a little tooclever for its own good. While it keeps you in suspense, the riddles go a littletoo far, and while they are critical, it's still a bit much. The end result is amovie brought down by the burden of maintaining information from an overlycomplicated plot.

The other problem is the mystery of the movie, theidentity of Keyser Soze. While the flashback clues can be very misleading, theynever come out and deliberately lie to the viewer. Regardless, the scripttrickery is not enough to stop the viewer from figuring out Soze's true identitywell in advance.

Despite all this, "The Usual Suspects" is afunny, visually stunning mystery. Many movies have the originality of a Xerox,but this movie is no copy.