El complot

Richard Donner's 'Conspiracy Theory' isn't without its share of interesting moments & has a solid cast that deliver, but overall, its an uneven! The Writing isn't always tight & never makes much use of its brilliant concept.

'Conspiracy Theory' Synopsis: A man obsessed with conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of his theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, in order to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.

'Conspiracy Theory' begins tepidly, I wasn't engaged in its initial moments at all. However, the film grows on you gradually & maintains a certain pace till the very end. I'd like to single out the dramatic scenes & also the portions involving the menace (A Solid Sir Patrick Stewart), that stand out. But, the writing isn't consistent or tight. It falters at places & even though its not boring, it never achieves anything extraordinary either.

Brian Helgeland's Screenplay is a mixed bag. Sometimes its super, sometimes not very appealing. Sharper Writing would've made 'Conspiracy Theory' a knockout! Richard Donner's Direction is excellent, as always. The legendary filmmaker has handled this political thriller with command. Cinematography & Editing are average. Action-Sequences are realistic.

Performance-Wise: Mel Gibson is convincing in his portrayal of a man obsessed with conspiracy theories. Julia Roberts is sensational. She shines all through. Sir Patrick Stewart has never been so creepy before. He nails the part of the evil villain.

On the whole, 'Conspiracy Theory' ranges from being good to strictly average. At best, A One-Time Watch!

In 1997's Conspiracy Theory, Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) is a conspiracy theorist. He has a conspiracy for everything and is constantly talking about them. He publishes a newsletter that has five subscribers.

Jerry is in love with Alice Sutton (Julia Robert's) whom he saved from a mugging. She works for the US attorney. Jerry visits her constantly without an appointment. She lets him even though she's not totally sure why.

It turns out that one of Jerry's conspiracy theories is correct because he's picked up and tortured by the CIA. He manages to escape.

When Alice visits him in the hospital, he tells her he's going to be killed and begs her to switch his chart with the man across from him. Alice denies doing it the next day when the man across from Jerry suddenly dies, and she's told it's the wrong man, not Jerry.

For what it was, the film was too long. It is, however, intriguing. Gibson does a good job as a man who acts crazy and spends a lot of time talking to himself. Robert's plays the confused Alice well.

Lots of New York City scenes. For me Richard Donner's direction is a little scattered. I saw this film at a screening. It came and went quickly.

The thing that stands out for me in this movie is the wonderful (and underrated) performance given by Mel Gibson. His part calls for an uneasy balance between a paranoid psychotic and romantic leading man and he treds that fine line beautifully. Despite all his craziness, he is totally likeable and his relationship with the Julia Roberts character is wonderfully complex and believable. Julia Roberts also gives an excellent performance and the chemistry between the two leads is perfect.

All in all, I loved this film and didn't understand why it was so underrated by the critics.

Mel Gibson gives a great performance here, as well as Julia Roberts! The story is really good, and the movie has some great plot twists. The only thing I disliked was the fact that Patrick Stewart didn't have a bigger role...

The movie also has quite some funny moments and lots of action. This definately is one of Richard Donner's best films to date, due especially to the outstanding performance of Mel Gibson! If you haven't seen it yet and if you're looking for an intelligent, well-acted movie, this is the one!

This movie could be classified into different genres - suspense, romance & thriller. Not many films can say that, or if they can, many do not succeed. Conspiracy Theory, however, did.

The first time I saw this, I was on the edge of my seat. It was very suspensful. I won't go into details if you haven't seen it, but it's really one of the best suspense films I've seen.

This wasn't a completely romantic film, no. In fact, I wish it would've touched on the romance more than it did. Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts had great chemistry. Although nothing really happened between them, the audience could clearly see Jerry's (Mel Gibson)love for Alice (Julia Roberts.)

Now, the plot. Jerry Fletcher has many wild conspiracy theories - including one that NASA is trying to kill the President with earthquakes. He's a cabbie & tells lots of people his ideas. But the one person he seems to tell the most to and thinks can help him is Alice Sutton, an attorney. He saved her months before the movie takes place when she was mugged. He seems to get on her nerves, but she puts up with him. He goes to her office all the time. He's obviously in love with her, but she doesn't feel the same way. Well, somehow "they" (CIA, FBI, you know "they") find out about Jerry's crazy conspiracies & they go after him. He and Alice are in danger.

The acting in this movie was terrific. This may be Mel's best. His portrayal of a crazy cabbie was so good and believable. It's not really like any other role he has played. He did it so well & the audience sympathized with him completely. Julia was good too. Her role wasn't really difficult to play, but she made it believably nevertheless. Patrick Stewart also stars in this. He made a great bad guy.

Overall, this movie was great. It was very suspensful & the acting was outstanding.