Whether he’s running from aliens, infiltrating enemy lairs or flying his jet upside down , Tom Cruise’s character are always the best of the best. In ‘The Firm’, he’s a hotshot young attorney, fresh out of law school, the best of the best. And the boutique Memphis law firm that hires him away from Wall Street? Turns out THEY WORK FOR THE MOB! Dang it.

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Luckily he sorts it all out, via an extremely complicated plot that requires him to run all over Memphis in his suit, being pursued by an albino assassin and a menacing, gun-toting Wilford Brimley, while Holly Hunter flies to the Cayman Islands and photocopies files at a furious pace. You’d think that part would be dull, but Holly Hunter somehow makes it exciting.

If you like a tense thriller, ‘The Firm’ will be right up your alley. It’s a white-knuckler. Brian and Hemal both enjoyed it – and felt that Tom Cruise was going beyond his usual skill set (running! grinning! running!) to give us an honest-to-goodness character. 

Even better, this movie is chock-a-block full of terrific character actors, from Holly Hunter’s sassy working-class broad with a heart of gold to David Strathairn’s crookedly wise ex-con to Wilford Brimley with his gun and menacing scowl. And, of course, the inimitable Gene Hackman as Tom Cruise’s charmingly corrupt mentor wreathed in doom.