The Firm (DVD)

*** FILM ONLY REVIEW*** Despite having read most of John Grisham's legal thrillers, I've actually seen very few of the films that have been made of them. A View To Kill was very good, The Pelican Brief was good, Runaway Jury was good but very different to the book, and The Client was as bad as the book. So when I had the chance to watch what is one of the more famous film adaptations, The Firm, I thought it was time to up my number of Grisham films. The Firm is one of my favourite Grisham novels. It tells the story of Mitch Mcdeere, a young law graduate who comes from a poor background and has worked very hard to get where he is. He is married to ...  Read the complete review

When Mitch McDere (a fresh faced Tom Cruise) lands a job at a massive law firm in Memphis straight out of Harvard Law school he couldn't be more thrilled. It's well paid, comes with a house and a car and he and his young wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) are delighted. Abby gets a job at a local school and for a while life is perfect. Until Mitch begins to suspect that his employers have a very dark and sinister side to them and that he could end up having his life controlled forever by The Firm. A great thriller written by John Grisham and directed by Sydney Pollack, The Firm is slick and full of suspense. Cruise puts in a great performance here as the cocky ...  Read the complete review

This is my kind of film, a proper, in depth and intelligent thriller. I have to say I loved it, although to an extent I agree with Wooly Gun about the soundtrack not being quite right. It’s been taken from a Grisham book and works well. Without giving too much away it’s a bout Mitch a young and talented lawyer who is given a job at one of the best Law firms. The plot then embroils organised crime and law enforcement and becomes involved and interesting. Conspiracies, corruption and setting up are all prominent and this makes for some gripping thriller action. Tom Cruise as Mitch is excellent and generally the acting is good, but it’s the ...  Read the complete review

The best thriller I have seen written by the famous John Grisham, you know that you can expect a great plot with lots of action and some unexpected twists inside. Cruise stars as a poor law student Mitch McDeere who is given the chance of a lifetime to join a prestigious Law Firm in Memphis. He goes there with his wife Abigail played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, for what they think is the chance of a lifetime. Little do they know that the Firm is watching their every move and is linked to the Chicago Mafia. Cruise is superb as the young lawyer planning to escape the Firm, without being killed or losing his law licence. The supporting cast are excellent, especially Gene ...  Read the complete review

It has a decent plot, and the direction, dialogue and acting is all good. However I found the resolution to the story extremely disappointing. My main gripe, though, comes from the annoying score throughout the film. The piano pieces all the way from start to finish attempts to give the film an old-style thriller feel, and to some degree it is successful. However the thing this music most succeeds in doing is annoy the viewer. It doesn't sound like much of a problem but it really is annoying. These two factors really do work against what could have been an excellent film. From something that is described as a thriller I would expect more thrills. ...  Read the complete review