Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60852 in VHS
• Released on: 1998-06-30
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 135 minutes

Customer Reviews

Patrick Stewart - evil?
I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this movie. When it hit theaters I wasn't interested in seeing it and only saw it recently. Being a huge Star Trek: The Next Generation fan, it was a cheap thrill to know that Patrick Stewart would be in this film... and he proves what an incredible actor he is. His character (Jonas) is so evil, you want him to just die, already!

Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) is a cab driver in New York City. He is a nutty but harmless (or is he?) conspiracy theory junkie. He has all sorts of theories about crop circles, crime, government control, you name it.

He is sure that people are out to kill him, so he always sets up an elaborate escape plan and sets booby traps everywhere in his slum apartment. Jerry is unexplicably obsessed with Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts), who is an attorney with the Department of Justice. He continues to stalk her and tries continuously to contact her to espouse his latest theories. Alice feels sorry for Jerry and thinks of him as a sometimes annoying, but caring, sweet, lonely man who is a little touched in the head.

Jerry has a self-published newsletter he sends out to a whopping 5 subscribers. As a number of them start mysteriously dying one by one, Alice suddenly starts to believe there is more to Jerry than just being a nutty cab driver.

Those who couldn't stomach "The Marathon Man" may have trouble seeing similar torture scenes at the hands of Jonas, but they are brief in comparison. The film is a total thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. The plot was so well thought-out, that while you're watching in suspense, you don't find yourself saying, "that's ridiculous!"

Mel Gibson is Brilliant
If you have any doubt whatsoever that Mel Gibson is one of the greatest actors of our time, buy this movie and dispel those doubts once and for all. Gibson's portrayal of the unhinged Jerry Fletcher is nothing short of astonishing. Rambling in broken, unfinished sentences, and in facial expressions that speak volumes, revealing the depth of his character in layers, Gibson gives an incredible performance.

The conspiracy-laden plot has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, and the suspense is fantastic. Another EXCELLENT movie in Mel Gibson's enviable repertoire. Julia Roberts does a serviceable job in the movie also, though not a stand-out performance.

The only clinker in the movie is Lauryn Hill's version of Frankie Valli's classic "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You." Hill's version is a travesty that absolutely, positively RUINS that great song. Leave it to a modern-day singer/rapper to completely SCREW UP a classic song. Fortunately, you can fast-forward past it when the credits roll.

Other than that, great movie, highly recommended.

Entertaining Fun Film
My title pretty much says it all, but I will elaborate. Mel Gibson plays a crazy (in a quirky way) conspiracy theorist who happens to be right about one of his theories. This leads to a whole web of intrigue involving the death of Alice Sutton's (a Justice Department employee/object of Gibson's affection played by Roberts) father, brainwashed assassins, black helicopters, and more. The many "chase" scenes where Mel must run from the spooks are thrilling and fresh. They didn't just rely on the old cliche's you've seen millions of times. During the finale, when the mystery is finally revealed to you, and all the action reaches it's climax, you'll be falling off the edge of your seat, I DARE you not to! The final scene I think is one of the best in the movie I think, if not certainly the most emotional. Anyone who's been forced to give up someone they love for any reason will agree with me I'm sure.
Yeah this movie didn't win any awards, and frankly didn't deserve any, but it was FUN and it ENTERTAINED, and those are the first responsibilities of any movie and accomplishing that is worthy of praise. Go buy it, you won't regret it.