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Conspiracy Theory (1997)
Released By: Warner Home Video   Rating: R   In Theaters: N/A
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Studio: Warner Home Video
Genre: Action-Adventure
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Richard Donner
Language: English
Official Website: N/A
Theatrical Release: N/A
Home Video Release: N/A
Cast: Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson, Patrick Stewart
Published ID: 7095
UPC: 085391509127, 883929075683,
Plot: Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) is a New York City cab driver who seems to have absorbed every bit of crackpot information passed along as suppressed news that's surfaced on talk radio or the Internet in the past 20 years. Anti-United Nations militia men who are actually U.N. operatives? NASA scientists engineering earthquakes? Oliver Stone's secret life as a government agent discrediting conspiracy theorists? Jerry's heard 'em all and believes most of them, and even publishes his own journal of forbidden information, with a subscription list that now totals five people. In short, Jerry seems like just another New York City lunatic, and while he spends a fair amount of his spare time following Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts), a government attorney, Alice regards him as harmless; he once intervened while she was being mugged, and he's been acting like her benign if whacked-out protector ever since. However, one day Jerry is kidnapped and worked over by CIA operatives; he is convinced that one of the theories he uncovered must be for real -- but he has no idea which one. He tries to get Alice to help him, and before long both are drawn into a dangerous web that leads to a startling revelation of just how Jerry got this way. Mel Gibson gives a fine comic performance, and those with a taste for alternative media will have fun dissecting which of the theories Jerry spouts are real (or at least appeared before this film was made) and which were the invention of the screenwriters. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
Conspiracy Theory
Added 11/18/2009

The DVD plays beautifully. No problems with sound, etc. But once again, another DVD that has nothing on the DVD itself except small writing around the hole in the middle.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
There's no reason to see this-- decent star vehicle for its time, but not much else.
Added 9/14/2009

This movie really doesn't stand up to the test of time. I'm sure it was a decent star vehicle for Mel Gibson, who turns in one of his usual stunt performaces as an insane conspiracy nut stalking Julia Roberts, who is competent and tender in her role as an attorney haunted by her father's death. But beyond the presence of those two actors, the premise, plot, and themes of this movie don't make much sense or hold much interest 12 years after its release.

The story is really the problem here-- the film leaves the connection between the two lead characters unexplained until the final scenes, and when it is finally revealed, it all seems unbelievable and conveniently contrived. The hokey plot about unknown and shadowy covert agencies is not credible in the least. And the themes are problematic as well--there's: "Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching you!" and then the even worse: "Just because your an insane stalker doesn't mean she won't fall in love with you!". Both are way to stupid to hang such a long movie on, and aren't rendered in a believable way.

(By the by, just how many movies does Mel get tortured and beaten to death in? It seems like quite the running theme---Mel, tortured, beaten, shot, stabbed, and run ragged, finds dying solace in the arms of a saintly female who weeps over his mangled body...???)

Anyhow, unless you are just a huge fan of either of the two lead actors, I wouldn't bother with this movie. It isn't horrible, it's just not very good.

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Good, smart and funny movie!
Added 5/3/2009

Stunning performance by Mel Gibson, he is very believable as a pranoid conspiracy buff. So is Julia Roberts she holds herself very nicely in this film. The film is fast paced and rather interesting. I recommend this to anyone.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Conspiracy Theory
Added 3/3/2009

Excellent cast that carrys you with them. The movie has some twists that keep you guessing. Well performed. Enjoy!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Excellent protrayal of a MKULTRA victim
Added 2/11/2009

This is the best movie I have ever seen portraying MKULTRA brainwashing atrocities committed by our government. I was awed and amazed at Mil Gibson's ability to accurately portray a target of the CIA's horrible brainwashing experiments intended to create the perfect spy -- an assassin who didn't know he was an assassin. I was also impressed Julia Roberts and the rest of the cast not to mention the excellent camera work and the overall production quality of the movie. With new evidence surfacing continually showing that MKULTRA did not stop with the 1975 Congressional Church committees investigation I was surprised to see this information divulged in this movie. The producer and diretor did not miss any detail in depicting the life of a targetted whistleblower.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
Conspiracy Theory
Added 11/18/2009

The DVD plays beautifully. No problems with sound, etc. But once again, another DVD that has nothing on the DVD itself except small writing around the hole in the middle.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
There's no reason to see this-- decent star vehicle for its time, but not much else.
Added 9/14/2009

This movie really doesn't stand up to the test of time. I'm sure it was a decent star vehicle for Mel Gibson, who turns in one of his usual stunt performaces as an insane conspiracy nut stalking Julia Roberts, who is competent and tender in her role as an attorney haunted by her father's death. But beyond the presence of those two actors, the premise, plot, and themes of this movie don't make much sense or hold much interest 12 years after its release.

The story is really the problem here-- the film leaves the connection between the two lead characters unexplained until the final scenes, and when it is finally revealed, it all seems unbelievable and conveniently contrived. The hokey plot about unknown and shadowy covert agencies is not credible in the least. And the themes are problematic as well--there's: "Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching you!" and then the even worse: "Just because your an insane stalker doesn't mean she won't fall in love with you!". Both are way to stupid to hang such a long movie on, and aren't rendered in a believable way.

(By the by, just how many movies does Mel get tortured and beaten to death in? It seems like quite the running theme---Mel, tortured, beaten, shot, stabbed, and run ragged, finds dying solace in the arms of a saintly female who weeps over his mangled body...???)

Anyhow, unless you are just a huge fan of either of the two lead actors, I wouldn't bother with this movie. It isn't horrible, it's just not very good.

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Good, smart and funny movie!
Added 5/3/2009

Stunning performance by Mel Gibson, he is very believable as a pranoid conspiracy buff. So is Julia Roberts she holds herself very nicely in this film. The film is fast paced and rather interesting. I recommend this to anyone.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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