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, Rovi
Donner directs with an efficient hand. He keeps the action moving briskly. But most important for this format, he knows how to slip in a quick joke or two without detracting from the tension of the suspenseful plot.
In the hands of stars in denial about their stardom and a director who can't be bothered to take things seriously, it has come out implausible and unsatisfying, a comic thriller that is not especially funny or thrilling.
If you've ever questioned Gibson's appeal, this serio-comic thriller offers 135 minutes of persuasive evidence as to why he's become one of the world's most reliable box-office draws.
...even at two hours and 15 minutes, Conspiracy Theory is fast-paced and exciting, effectively mixing drama, comedy, ingenuity, suspense, revelation and a heartening sense of a triumph of humanity.
Another outstanding collaboration of the "Lethal Weapon" dream team Gibson and Donner, creating a funny, enthralling and exciting conspiracy thriller with all elements it needs. While Gibson's character is clearly a lunatic he finally may be onto something as suddenly an agency is out to have him killed, and only Julia
Roberts (who never looked cuter) can help him. The chemistry between the two stars is great and helps a lot to make this work, the smart and engrossing script helps too and of course Donner knows how to direct chases. Sometimes the lunacy goes a bit over board, but the dots of humor doesn't make the overall threat any smaller and the movie always manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. Carter Burwell delievered an excellent soundtrack for it, too. And the last five minutes are near-perfect. Excellent thriller movie making.
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