Conspiracy Theory (1997)

Powerful

Best movie ever!

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Not sure what happened but after the wheels came off of Mel Gibson's reputation, it seems everyone has had a better look at his films with a fresh look. For the most part Mel Gibson is a horrible actor. If he's not playing the part of Lethal Weapon Marty Riggs or some martyr who endures ungodly pain, he's got nothing. This film could be worse but Gibson's melodrama at certain parts is so forced so as to leave it with a terrible rating. Gibson does his "crazy man Riggs" mode in parts of this film and Patrick Stewart, Julia Roberts do what they can to save this mess.In short, Jerry is obsessed with a government agent. He has theories, conspiracy theories. The big question is whether it's all a big conspiracy theory and will she believe him? Well... what do you think? Which way will this movie go? I dunno!!! Predictable and, without spoiling the forced acting at the end, I can say that it's one of those "nothing else is on cable" movies. It's completely forgettable and, worse, it's not even a fun ride to get to the end. Patrick Stewart is good but wasted, given awkward lines that he does his best with and a resolution which is really unsalvageable. If you must watch, make sure you multitask so you won't regret the time investment.

Jerry Fletcher is a man in love with a woman he saved from muggers a while ago and now watches her from afar, like a pseudo guardian angel. She works for the government, but Fletcher is an outspoken critic of the government. He has conspiracy theories for everything, from aliens to political assassinations. One of his theories finds itself to be accurate. But which one? Some dangerous people want him dead, and the only person he trusts is the woman he loves....The thing with this film is that Gibson is doing his usual kooky schtick that we all know and love from other Donner movies and the action comedies that made him such a big hit in Hollywood after Mad Max. But, kooky and mental health problems really don't mix, so you find yourself never really warming to his character, because even though he says he isn't, Jerry is a potential threat to Alice, because the man is unpredictable, so the film is pretty unsure of what kind of genre it falls into.The thought of Gibson and Roberts starring in a film together must have sounded like a license to print money in 1997, but it's easy to see why it didn't hit big at the box office. If Donner had gone a little darker, and made it a full on thriller, it would've done much better, because it has dark elements, but Jerry is portrayed as a lovable dolt who's misunderstood.Roberts is okay as Alice, and really comes into her own during the final act. Stewart plays Basil Exposition here, used only to explain story arcs and plot points to us via Roberts, but he plays a good spook.But the Donner sheen is there, and any film featuring the Gibson and the director is worth watching, I just wished the studio had gone for the dark route, done a straight up thriller and got rid of the tagged on happy ending.

Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) is a paranoid NYC cabbie. He sees conspiracy theories everywhere and is willing to tell everybody about them. He has a troubled past and is obsessed with Justice department lawyer Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts) whom he rescued from a mugging 6 months ago. Then he gets kidnapped by spooks, tortured by Dr. Jonas (Patrick Stewart) and it's a matter of figuring out which theory of his got him into trouble.This movie wants to be and NEEDS to be a paranoid thriller. The audience has to question Jerry's sanity. However it never shows that he has hallucinations. Therefore it's never questioned that those things actually happened. Also his escapes come off as really silly and extremely unbelievable. I kept wanting the inner dark gritty paranoia conspiracy 70s drama to rise up but it's constantly stuck in a 90s action movie. There is an interesting idea of a movie. However there is light tone in the movie that is perpetuated by Mel Gibson's jokey performance and the FUN action scenes. This is not dark enough. If it wants to be a fun action movie, the lead should really be Julia Roberts. Mel should be the wacky co-star. My last complaint is the awkward attempt at romance. They have no chemistry at all and are better off not even going down that road. It cheapens Jerry's protection of her. The movie just wears down until the story becomes meaningless.

I've always been a fan of Conspiracy Theories so I figured I would check this one out,, it's above average,, based on the acting between our stars, Mel Gibson, Julia Robert,, and Patrick Stewart,, I was hoping for an actual conspiracy,, instead we get the old,, CIA, mind control stuff, rogue killer programmed to assassinate someone,, which isn't that bad, but some of the theories in the movie like the Oliver Stone --George Bush one,, I was like wow OK.. Mel's character, Jerry Fletcher is majorly paranoid, insanely crazy as one of his theories actually turns out to be true, problem for him is as he has so many now he has to figure out which theory he is right about,, he get's help from a young lady he saved from a mugging 6 months ago,, so he is like her guardian angel so to speak,, very interesting movie,, once you get by all the covert military mind control stuff.