Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

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.

sol- Invited to join a mysterious legal firm on a high salary, a law school graduate begins to suspect that something is amiss in this riveting Tom Cruise movie. The firm acts like a cult: every member is happily married, they encourage wives to have children, profess conformity to traditional values... and ten percent of lawyers who have worked there have died in horrific accidents. No lawyers have ever left either (at least not alive). This intriguing premise comes from the pen of John Grisham, and as the film veers off into speechmaking near the end with Cruise talking about learning to "discover the law again", Grisham's mark is noticeable. Sydney Pollack has the directing chair though, and much like with 'Three Days of the Condor', Pollack spins a superb paranoia thriller from Grisham's story with limited dialogue and instead focus on establishing a foreboding presence within the firm. There is an unshakable sense of unchecked malice in several scenes. A strong supporting cast helps, though not everyone is in top form. An always wide-eyed Jeanne Tripplehorn has zero chemistry with Cruise and makes an odd choice for his wife. Gary Busey is also little more than himself. Hal Holbrook renders his character fantastically menacing though and Wilford Brimley sends chills down the spine as a security director of sorts for the firm. At two and a half hours, the film sounds a bit on the long side, but it is gripping all the way.

Tommy Prado I give it a three for how many times I felt ANY kind of suspense as I seem to remember the book was a very exciting read...giving this a watch as I couldn't find anything else and since I enjoyed the book..((sound familiar??))...first of all as much as I think Tom Cruise is about as one dimensional an actor for that time it probably was a good choice since he was certainly bankable in the early 90's..however he truly shows no acting charisma in this... shows all the same facial and hand expressions that you will see gone into overdrive by Jerry MacGuire which got him to major ham status... The movie is too plodding and edited with so many inconsequential scenes it just sucks the life out of the suspense...the best actors in the film are actually the supporting cast from Holly Hunter to Ed Harris..even the great and understated Steven Hill gives you more to think about than three quarters of this movie as Cruise and Tripplehorne give us NOTHING to really care about with mopey facial expressions and Cruise's trademark "hold on I am thinking while staring the other direction and pointing my fingers and then standing with a perplexed look to mug for the cam in a manner WE KNOW somethings about to go down"...and then there is the score....where do I begin...the jazzy piano added NOTHING to the supposed suspense the book has created..I firmly expected a dance number to come out of nowhere in the middle of this....totally inappropriate music for this....Gene Hackman is...is......GENE HACKMAN....nuff said......the ending is just ridiculous anti-climatic and makes you think "are you SERIOUS?....to sum this up the best way possible..my favorite scene in the whole movie involved Gary Busey...chew on that for a second or three....LOL

g-bodyl Back in the early 1990's, movies based on lawyers and law were everything, so it's no surprise that many of John Grisham's books were adapted into screen during this time, including this movie The Firm. The Firm is actually a really tense, character-driven thriller that works despite a stuffy running time and a very confusing plot(especially the last half-hour.) The screenplay is effective, but kudos to those who can follow the entirety of the plot because it was hard to follow at times.Sydney Pollack's film is about this very smart man who is on the cusp of graduating from Harvard when he is offered a package at this law firm in Memphis which can afford him an affluent lifestyle. But little does he know the firm has a sinister side. When the FBI talks to him about the firm and asks him to be an insider, Mitch McDeere's life will be forever changed.This film has a well-rounded cast and everyone is put to good use. Tom Cruise does a great job using brain and muscle to sort things out. Gene Hackman does a great job as his flawed, but kind character. Jeanne Tripplehorn is effective as Mitch's wife, Abby. We also get smaller key performances from Ed Harris as the FBI investigator and David Strathairn as Mitch's older brother, Ray who is serving time for manslaughter.Overall, The Firm is a very interesting movie. The plot is all over the place and the film runs over two and a half hours, but the film never becomes boring and it's not all that hard to put the pieces together. I also like the jazzy piano score by Dave Grusin. It sounds upbeat at times, but it adds to the film. A very suspenseful thriller and I was surprised how fast my heart was beating in the three-way battle between Mitch, the FBI, and the Firm. I rate this film 8/10.