The Firm

Name: The Firm
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: June 30, 1993
Duration: 154 min
Rating: 58
Cast: Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tom Cruise

1993

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 181 Ratings

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8.5

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8.5	User Score Universal acclaim based on 181 Ratings

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The Firm

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Movie Details & Credits

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: June 30, 1993 | R

Starring: Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tom Cruise

Summary: John Grisham’s best selling novel comes to the big screen.

Director: Sydney Pollack

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 154 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Kenneth Turan

The result is a top-drawer melodrama, a polished example of commercial movie-making that manages to improve on the original while retaining its best-selling spirit. [30 Jun 1993 Pg. F1]

Joe Brown

Cruise was born to play company man, and the role is an opportunity to sum up his old roles and transcend them with his most potently emotional work. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

No one is going to confuse The Firm with art, but its high- cholesterol virtues-a story that keeps you guessing, a dozen meaty character turns-are enough to send you home sated. Read full review

Empire Matt Mueller

An average movie improved by Cruise's star appeal and accomplished supporting cast. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

By the film's climax, following the plot movements has become merely complex rather than suspenseful. Read full review

Richard Corliss

Tom Cruise heads a tony cast in a best-seller movie that is firm at the start and infirm by the end. Read full review

Rick Groen

By then, the lofty ambitions can't disguise the sad reality - it's long, it's cluttered, and it's trite. Read full review

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User Reviews

TylerDurden900

Jul 19, 2014

The Firm is an intense thriller with top notch acting and an intriguing plot. Tom Cruise gives a classic role
along with a talented supporting cast in this movie based on a John Grisham novel.

25 of 27 users found this helpful252

MovieGuys

Sep 29, 2013

A melodrama worth watching, The Firm is a very ironically correct title, as this movie is very sturdy and "firm", and it knows where it's going. It has a good foundation, benefitting from the great performances and intriguing story, and it's a very intelligent thriller that won't beA melodrama worth watching, The Firm is a very ironically correct title, as this movie is very sturdy and "firm", and it knows where it's going. It has a good foundation, benefitting from the great performances and intriguing story, and it's a very intelligent thriller that won't be forgotten anytime soon.… Expand

21 of 23 users found this helpful212

alejandro970

Oct 29, 2021

Something that became a trend in the 90s was adapting John Grisham's novels to film. They could not be called classics of that decade, this one, about a lawyer who discovers the shady businesses of the firm he works for, does enough for the 155 minutes to run smoothly, without further pretense.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Compi24

Jan 31, 2014

Sydney Pollack's "The Firm" ultimately finds a home within its respective sub-genre, but it almost bites off more than it can proverbially chew with its insane length and a plot that may be far beyond the layman's grasp.

0 of 8 users found this helpful08

Broyax

May 31, 2018

Je ne m'y attendais assurément pas mais Sydney Pollack le branleur du vide et de l'ennui cinématochiatique a tiré quelque chose du bouquin (que je n'ai pas lu) de John Grisham... sans doute parce qu'il se passe quelque chose dans le livre et que le vieil endormi Sydney était obligé de suivreJe ne m'y attendais assurément pas mais Sydney Pollack le branleur du vide et de l'ennui cinématochiatique a tiré quelque chose du bouquin (que je n'ai pas lu) de John Grisham... sans doute parce qu'il se passe quelque chose dans le livre et que le vieil endormi Sydney était obligé de suivre un tant soit peu la trame d'origine. Sans doute.

En tout cas, on s'emmerde fort peu pendant ces deux plombes et demi, ce qui ne laisse pas de m'épater et pas qu'un peu... Et cela en dépit de Tom Cruise le petit connard qui s'agite et s'évertue (sans succès évidemment) à jouer l'avocaillon frais émoulu d'Harvard qui entre dans la Firme, ce gros cabinet d'avocats véreux qui travaille 24/7 à blanchir le fric de Cosa Nostra.

Heureusement, il n'y a pas que lui ! il y a aussi la jolie Jeanne Tripplehorn (dis klaxon... pouêt-pouêt !) et la charmante Holly Hunter recolorée en rouquine. Et il y a bien sûr l'excellent Gene Hackman, l'excellent Ed Harris et nombre de seconds rôles toujours plus brillants que le petit Tom. Tommy cela dit est mauvais (évidemment) mais demeure supportable et il court vite, même avec sa sacoche pleine de fausses factures.

Malgré le temps alloué, on s'étonne tout de même que vers la fin, le film devienne aussi brouillon, puis éventuellement grotesque puisqu'avec quelques tours de passe-passe, le petit con enfume tout le monde... mais ça, ça doit venir du bouquin dont l'auteur marche visiblement sur la tête et qui prend la Mafia pour des idiots. Et le FBI aussi pendant qu'on y est. Enfin, peut-être.

Toujours est-il que la Firme est donc regardable du début à la fin et que l'ambiance paranoïde est assez bien rendue. Ce vieux Syd garde toujours sa caméra bien dans l'axe et ne l'agite certainement pas en vain comme le font si souvent les jeunes de nos jours ; c'est bien sûr appréciable et en même temps logique, car Papy Syd est un calme.

Ce n'est pas bon pour autant, hélas ! mais pas mauvais non plus... ce qui pour l'habituel cancre Sydney qui dort au fond de la classe, tient d'une prouesse plus ou moins involontaire.… Expand

0 of 5 users found this helpful05

Murphydh1

Feb 16, 2020

The film never builds the susprnse and threatening atmosphere nececcary for a good thriller. The "mystery' becomes too obvious too quickly. From there the charcarers and the plot are disjointed . Holly Hunter is great

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

Xianyu

Jul 22, 2020

Never before have I lost interest in a movie due to music choice alone. I usually don't notice music in movies. I can appreciate it when it's insanely well-done (Such as John Wick, etc) but otherwise, music is a background element I pay no attention to. The amount of this movie that INever before have I lost interest in a movie due to music choice alone. I usually don't notice music in movies. I can appreciate it when it's insanely well-done (Such as John Wick, etc) but otherwise, music is a background element I pay no attention to. The amount of this movie that I watched, that I could actually stomach, had the single most awfully-chosen soundtrack I have ever heard. Even tense moments were completely undermined by this awful chirpy 'everything is okay and happy' piano chord music that was so distractingly out of place, and was so discordant with the actual happenings on screen that it was like watching the movie on an ipad in a piano bar almost far enough to dodge the ambient piano but not quite.

Needless to say it took me right out the movie when I was watching Tom Cruise sneakily searching through a medicine cabinet or whatever, suspecting that his partner is an ACTUAL MURDERER and the tense scene of him trying to conduct the search without being noticed is underscored by AWFUL CHIRPY PIANO MUSIC.

As I said, I rarely care about music. So for it to completely ruin a movie, it has to be absolutely abhorrent. And it is. It is godawful.… Expand

0 of 12 users found this helpful012

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