But only because Digibooks look cool.

At its core, The Usual Suspects (1995) is a complex, multi-layered film with a genuinely deceptive ending. Our story revolves around Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey), who's interrogated by U.S. Customs Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) about a $91M drug heist the night before. Kint's story is quite a tale: his associates (including Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin and Kevin Pollak) were involved in a firefight, and a mysterious man named Keyser Söze was also part of the equation. Söze's reputation carries most of the film's intrigue: he's feared but virtually never seen, and the mere mention of his name is enough to make most criminals tremble in fear. To put it simply, The Usual Suspects tells Kint's story in unraveling flashbacks, and our job is to figure out how much of it is true.

Akira Kurosawa once said that "a good movie should be entertaining and easy to understand"...and more often than not, The Usual Suspects is more "entertaining" than "easy to understand". I'm not saying this from the perspective of a lazy or easily-distracted viewer; I'm simply stating that it tries a little too hard to blindside us with small details, if for no other reason than to throw us off course. On one hand, The Usual Suspects earns the weight that its ending carries (and to its credit, manages to hold up to repeat viewings), yet it can leave a sour taste in the mouths of those who don't like blatant manipulation. We're held at arm's length for the duration of the film, much like Kujan, and the film's final twist is dangled right in front of us. From a purely entertaining standpoint, this tactic works just fine. But it doesn't make The Usual Suspects one of the decade's best films, even though it's a solid debut effort from director Bryan Singer and full of great performances.

Regardless of your level of fandom, there's no doubt that The Usual Suspects hasn't received a proper high-def release to date (including this one). The original 2007 Blu-Ray featured a passable A/V presentation, but all of the bonus features from the excellent 2002 Special Edition DVD were left behind. Four years later, and MGM has decided to re-release The Usual Suspects in a fancy new Digibook case...but for some reason, the exact same Blu-Ray is tucked inside. Out of morbid curiosity, let's take a closer look:

Presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, this 1080p transfer is the same (slightly) dated MPEG-2, single-layered offering that we got from the previous Blu-Ray release. It's not a terrible effort, mind you: image detail and the film's natural color palette are decent, though some scenes tend to lean towards the soft side. Digital imperfections occasionally pop up, including mild amounts of edge enhancement and noise, but they aren't overly distracting. The bottom line is that most folks only re-buy movies for an improved visual presentation, and The Usual Suspects doesn't get one here.

Of course, the DTS-HD Master Audio track (also available in French or Spanish 2.0 dubs) is exactly the same as well, but it's not like The Usual Suspects would really benefit from a complete audio overhaul. This talky film generally stays put in the front and center channels, though occasional music cues and periods of action open up the soundstate nicely. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are offered during the main feature.

An entertaining but mildly overrated movie arrives for the second time on Blu-Ray...and the only difference is a fancy new packaging job. Why haven't more studios learned how to treat fans with more respect than this? Assuming you don't have this on Blu-Ray already, Skip It and get the cheaper original release instead. $35 is too much for a nice looking case.