BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

harriseric-32698 The Firm is a top notch legal thriller from Sydney Pollack based on the John Grisham bestseller. Tom Cruise- at the height of his wave- plays young hot shot recently graduated Mitch Mcdeere. He is a brilliant mind and all the top firms want him and he decides to go for Memphis based small firm. He is mentored by a cunning Gene Hackman as he comes to understand that this small firm has a sinister underbelly. Featuring great performances and a breezy plot The Firm was a big success then and is still a good film today.

mattkratz This was a good adaptation of the John Grisham novel. Tom Cruise gives a good turn as Mitch, a recent law school grad about to take his bar exam and get a job in prestigious Memphis law firm. However, his dream job soon turns into a nightmare when he learns of some rather dark secrets the firm has-like what happens to the lawyers and "recruits" when one of the partners takes them on "business trips" to the Cayman Islands, something Mitch is about to go on. Things start to spiral downwards as they use one of his family secrets and other things against him.This movie features a good story, a great cast, decent suspense, and good performances. Fans of John Grisham will like this.*** out of ****

jmillerdp Tom Cruise's character is officially the dumbest lawyer who's ever lived! He doesn't ask a question when a supposedly small Memphis law firm offers him far more than a Wall Street firm. Really? And, it's all downhill from there in John Grisham's impossibly laughable pulp thriller.Grisham has always turned out potboilers, melodramatic legal tales that strain credulity. But this, his first, is even more impossible to believe than most!The film is reasonably made. But, a competently made film that has a truly Loony Tunes blueprint is just that. And, the believability just gets more and more strained as it goes.Dave Grusin attempts a one-instrument-only film score with performing the whole thing with only a piano. It's an admirable attempt, but it just doesn't work. Bernard Hermann created an all-string film score for "Psycho," but that included the full string section: violins, cellos, bass violins, etc.This movie is such a joke! Embarrassing.** (2 Out of 10 Stars)

gavin6942 A young lawyer (Tom Cruise) joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.Roger Ebert gave "The Firm" three stars out of four, remarking: "The movie is virtually an anthology of good small character performances. The large gallery of characters makes The Firm into a convincing canvas but with a screenplay that developed the story more clearly, this might have been a superior movie, instead of just a good one with some fine performances." I think Ebert is spot on here. The plot is pretty good, but never seems as strong as the characters. Every actor gives the full amount of their potential.For me, it was a thrill to see Tobin Bell. Cruise is great, and was apparently very athletic at this point in his career -- Paul Calderon recalls that Cruise was mountain climbing on weekends. Gene Hackman is incredible, Ed Harris is pretty good... heck, even Gary Busey performs better than usual. But Bell is great to see. I do not think he really became known before "Saw", and even then only by certain people. Here, he has an excellent supporting role as a hit man.