The Firm (1993)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jeff "

  
  I was looking forward to seeing this film, and I thought it was going to be an excellent thriller. After viewing it, I thought it was a good thriller at best. Based on John Grisham's bestseller, The Firm is a fairly entertaining thriller which mixes dramatic elements. Tom Cruise… More
  I was looking forward to seeing this film, and I thought it was going to be an excellent thriller. After viewing it, I thought it was a good thriller at best. Based on John Grisham's bestseller, The Firm is a fairly entertaining thriller which mixes dramatic elements. Tom Cruise plays newcomer lawyer Mitch Mcdeere who gets hired by a firm that has ties to organized crime. Now I haven't read the book, but I thought this was a good film with plenty of twists and turns. Director Sydney Pollack keeps the film engaging to the very end, but the film is a tad too long. Tom Cruise delivers a good performance, and he stars apposite some impressive talent. Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook and Ed Harris are all phenomenal. The Firm is not a perfect film, but it manages to still be an effective intricate thriller that delivers on screen. I've never read a Grisham novel, but I have to say after watching this film, I was impressed enough to want to check out his work. Nowadays Tom Cruise is plainly weird but at least he was able to deliver good performances (and still does, but less frequently) back in the day. The Firm is a good thriller with a great cast, but there's something that's missing from the film to truly make it a memorable film. As it stands, The Firm manages to thrill but by the climax you have to admit that it could have been done slightly better.

• Conner R

  
  If there is ever one movie that showcases the hotshot version of Tom Cruise, it's The Firm. I'll admit that I never really saw a whole lot in it when I saw it for the first time, but it's really grown on me over time. Tom Cruise's performance alone should be worth… More
  If there is ever one movie that showcases the hotshot version of Tom Cruise, it's The Firm. I'll admit that I never really saw a whole lot in it when I saw it for the first time, but it's really grown on me over time. Tom Cruise's performance alone should be worth anyone's time; it's extremely multi-dimensional and he seems to hit everything just right. Even for being a lawyer thriller, Tom Cruise brings his intensity on full speed and has you at the edge of your seat. This also has some great supporting performances from Gene Hackman and Holly Hunter, not to mention the intimidatingly bald Ed Harris. Now this takes John Grisham to the next level and stands as probably the best movie based on one of his books, just edging out The Client. It's an extremely effective conspiracy theory plot that has you interested for the entire time.

• Steven C

  
  Sydney Pollack's "The Firm" is John Grisham 101. This is a crisp, clean legal thriller that hits all the proper points (murder, cat and mouse chases, trips to exotic islands, bugged phone lines, a foreign contract killer, double crosses, the FBI). The film keeps… More
  Sydney Pollack's "The Firm" is John Grisham 101. This is a crisp, clean legal thriller that hits all the proper points (murder, cat and mouse chases, trips to exotic islands, bugged phone lines, a foreign contract killer, double crosses, the FBI). The film keeps everything nice and tidy and ends on a satisfactory note. Films like "The Firm" (well made, clearheaded crowd pleasers) are easy to enjoy. "The Firm" is propelled by an involving but straightforward story and a strong performance from Tom Cruise. He is backed by a large, talented, supporting cast. Nothing about the story is all that surprising but it's handled in a way that never insults your intelligence, which says a lot.

• Melvin W

  
  I really enjoyed The Firm. Much of the criticism comes from the fact that it is overlong and boring. For me, the movie was never boring and it was fun watching the plot unfold. A great cast featuring Tom Cruise, Holly Hunter, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, and Ed Harris, along with the… More
  I really enjoyed The Firm. Much of the criticism comes from the fact that it is overlong and boring. For me, the movie was never boring and it was fun watching the plot unfold. A great cast featuring Tom Cruise, Holly Hunter, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, and Ed Harris, along with the great direction of Sydney Pollack make for a very entertaining two and a half hours.

• Dan S

  
  A pulse-less, predictable, and rather disappointing "thriller" from writer John Grisham and director Sidney Pollack, concerning a young lawyer (Tom Cruise) fresh out of grad school who is recruited by a Memphis firm, only to learn that they might have ties to the mafia and… More
  A pulse-less, predictable, and rather disappointing "thriller" from writer John Grisham and director Sidney Pollack, concerning a young lawyer (Tom Cruise) fresh out of grad school who is recruited by a Memphis firm, only to learn that they might have ties to the mafia and some of the men that work there die in mysterious ways. The only thing that kept this thing from being awful was the acting, which is indeed quite good (Gene Hackman and Ed Harris are both awesome in supporting parts), the thing is you can see most of this movie coming. There are way to many characters and the screenplay seems to not care about explaining some of the finer details despite possessing a 150 minute running time. While the last half hour does contain some excitement, I could not help but feel disappointed and bored through most of this film. Pollack has done much better ("They Shoot Horses, Don't They" comes to mind).

• Cassandra M

  
  I never finished reading the book, but that there was some differences between certain parts of the book to movie. From what I have heard the ending is different between the two. I have also heard that the ending is better in movie. I had seen this movie a million times before today,… More
  I never finished reading the book, but that there was some differences between certain parts of the book to movie. From what I have heard the ending is different between the two. I have also heard that the ending is better in movie. I had seen this movie a million times before today, but just now bought it on DVD. The theatrical trailer 1 is very good and doesn't even show that much of the movie. My favourite parts of this movie was mainly the ending sequences which I won't go into because you need to see them for yourself. I loved right at the beginning where Tom Cruise's (Mitch McDeere's) wife gets home and as she's opening the door, the door flings open and Mitch grabs her and they go straight for the couch kissing. Then after a few seconds she says "Okay. Okay. You're going to have to leave now. I'm expecting my husband." "The hell with him" he says and shuts the door and takes her into the kitchen. The movie is very good, amusing, and I do agree with it being a little farfetched but all a movie is supposed to be is amusing because it is all fantasy. Even stories based on true events are fantasies because they may not show exactly how certain things took place and that it is a byist story. It only shows how one person viewed something. In any case, this movie deserves an 8 or nine out of ten.

• Cassie H

  
  Tom Cruise wows me again as a lawyer working at a law firm in this intense film!!!

• Candy R

  
  Excellent thriller about a firm run by the mafia.

• Dean !

  
  A cool film about a mafia run law firm.

• jay n

  
  coming from a talent like pollack and with gifted actors hackman and holbrook in support this should have been much better.

• Dean M

  
  The adaptation of John Grisham's bestselling suspense-thriller is quite okay about an ambitious young lawyer who joins a Memphis law firm and discovers that the lawyers there are even more crooked than most.

• danny d

  
  pretty good flick

• Bradley W

  
  The Firm is a good thriller that stars a great role from Tom Cruise, but the main problem with the film was that it should've been a lot darker than it could've been and I would have personally changed some thing to make this a perfect thriller. But overall this is a good… More
  The Firm is a good thriller that stars a great role from Tom Cruise, but the main problem with the film was that it should've been a lot darker than it could've been and I would have personally changed some thing to make this a perfect thriller. But overall this is a good movie and definently worth a watch.

• Stephen E

  
  Of the course the ending in the book was far better, but I can see how the ending in the movie had to work for times sake. Otherwise, it was an above-average thriller.

• Christopher O

  
  Grisham's first hit novel is made into a so so film. Cruise is believable as Mitch McDeere a struggling law student who ends up in a prestigious law firm in Memphis after graduation, which is really a store front for Mob activity. He is sucked in to the good life long enough and… More
  Grisham's first hit novel is made into a so so film. Cruise is believable as Mitch McDeere a struggling law student who ends up in a prestigious law firm in Memphis after graduation, which is really a store front for Mob activity. He is sucked in to the good life long enough and risk he and his wife's life to get from under the grip of this dangerous organization. THe film does not capture the suspense of the novel well enough and seems a little too lengthy. THe lead roles are cast well but it just does not work as well as it should. Not a horrible film but could have been better.

• Deb S

  
  Based on a John Grisham novel about a young, ambitious Harvard graduate (Tom Cruise) being accepted into lucrative law firm. They give him a BMW, a new home for himself and his gorgeous wife (Jeanne Tripplehorne), and a nice paycheck, all in return for Mitch taking a spot at their… More
  Based on a John Grisham novel about a young, ambitious Harvard graduate (Tom Cruise) being accepted into lucrative law firm. They give him a BMW, a new home for himself and his gorgeous wife (Jeanne Tripplehorne), and a nice paycheck, all in return for Mitch taking a spot at their firm, which he does eagerly. But soon, Mitch suspects something more than meets the eye is going on. Gene Hackman is the corrupt attorney, Ed Harris, the hard-headed cop and Gary Busey as the tough ex-con/private eye who pays the ultimate price for asking questions about dead lawyers. The beginning started out good and looked like it had a lot of potential. However, the ending is where this movie seems to lose its appeal.

• Naughtia N

  
  This movie was great. Tom Cruise stars as a newly graduated from lawye who gets this great opportunity to work with a law firm in Memphis, everything seemed good and promising. Soon he begins to worry about the firm's clients and he gets contacted by the FBI. He soon discovers… More
  This movie was great. Tom Cruise stars as a newly graduated from lawye who gets this great opportunity to work with a law firm in Memphis, everything seemed good and promising. Soon he begins to worry about the firm's clients and he gets contacted by the FBI. He soon discovers that the socalled clients are members of the mafia. This movie was interesting and catchy. This is one of Tom Cruise's good movies, I most definetely didn't want to leave the tv.

• Nicolas K

  
  Yet another fine Gene Hackman thriller, based on a excellent book.

• Andrew F

  
  A mediocre thriller that doesn't live up to the book. It's too bad, because the book was great. The end was a nice finish, but it was the only exciting part.

• Curt C

  
  I don't think anything interesting happened throughout the entirety of this film.

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