Conspiracy Theory
Jerry Fletcher sees conspiracies everywhere. One has turned out to be true. Now his enemies want him dead. And she's the only one he can trust.
New York cab driver and conspiracy buff Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) knows about the secret movers, shakers and assassins who really control things. Trying to put Justice Department attorney Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts) in the know, he's run out of her office. Soon both will run for their lives.
The two stars conspire for suspense, romance and twists that click like a rush-hour taxi meter. A crackpot theory in the newsletter Jerry publishes may be true. Cryptic Dr. Jonas (Patrick Stewart) and his men aim to quash it - and them too. "I don't know what I know but I know that it's big." Jerry says. What we know is that Conspiracy Theory is big entertainment.
Member Reviews
OK Movie - sampid
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 guyMuch Better Second Time - Ilania
With two such good actors as Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, I watched it again and enjoyed it much more. Director Richard Donner (who also did Lethal Weapon and Superman) kept the movie in constant action. The starting scene has Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) talking a-mile-a-minute, which is quite tedious. There are some hard scenes of torture...yet there is tender love and even some humor. It is not a regular action or thriller film, it is not a real international espionage story, or a John Grisham-like plot....it is rather a combination of all the above.Mediocre - The_Cunninghams
`Conspiracy Theory'' cries out to be a small film--a quixotic little indie production where the daffy dialogue and weird characters could weave their coils of paranoia into great offbeat humor. Unfortunately, the parts of the movie that are truly good are buried beneath the deadening layers of thriller cliches and an unconvincing love story.
Very few action sequences work. Most of them bring movies to a lurching halt. ``Conspiracy Theory'' is never more interesting that when Gibson is spinning his bizarre theories, and never more boring then when secret agents are rappelling down ropes from helicopters hovering over New York streets. There have been so many action sequences in so many movies that we have lost the capacity for surprise; unless they work as part of the plot, our eyes glaze over, because we know the actors have gone out for lunch and we are looking at stunt men supervised by the second unit.
I have no inside knowledge of the production details. Not a smidgen. I'm going entirely on instinct. But all my instincts tell me that major changes were made to the original material in order to suit ``audience expectations'' about the stars. If you want to experience the anguish of rewrites dictated by kneejerk bureaucrats, attentively watch the scenes where the movie tries to explain why this woman and this man could arrive at this relationship. It is always painful to see a movie in flight from its strengths.
Member Reviews
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OK Movie - sampid
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. ...Much Better Second Time - Ilania
With two such good actors as Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, I watched it again and enjoyed it much more. Director Richard Donner (who also did Lethal Weapon and Superman) kept the movie in constant action. The starting scene has Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) ...Mediocre - The_Cunninghams
`Conspiracy Theory'' cries out to be a small film--a quixotic little indie production where the daffy dialogue and weird characters could weave their coils of paranoia into great offbeat humor. Unfortunately, the parts of the movie that are truly good are ...