Conspiracy Theory (1997) Movie Review: Richard Donner’s Conspiracy-Fueled Thriller Is Still Incredibly Watchable

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]There are movies you throw on because they seem entertaining, and then there are movies that completely grab hold of you and refuse to let go. “Conspiracy Theory” (1997) is one of those movies. It starts slightly unhinged, and before you even realize it, you are locked into this wildly entertaining ride that somehow works as a conspiracy thriller, a romance, a character study, and even a dark comedy at the same time. Whenever I think of “Conspiracy Theory,” I immediately think about the fast-paced editing style. This is a movie that deserves merit, even based on one scene that’s featured in the movie.

I remember after fifteen minutes of watching this movie, I was already hoping for a sequel. Directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, this movie is committed to its own style. The screenplay was also written by the director of “Payback”, Brian Helgeland. Helgeland was said to be standing at the gates of Warner Bros, holding a sign that said: “Will write for work, for money“. Richard Donner got out of his car and spoke with Helgeland about his sign, which led to the two of them working on this movie.

The first thing that makes “Conspiracy Theory” worth watching is how entertaining it is. The movie wastes no time. Within minutes, you meet Jerry Fletcher, a taxi driver in New York who talks nonstop about secret government operations, assassinations, hidden surveillance, UFO coverups, and every paranoia-infested rabbit hole imaginable. The funny thing is that now, in the year 2026, none of it sounds as wild as it did back then. Fletcher is the kind of guy passengers desperately want to escape from, ranting at strangers with total conviction while sounding half mad and weirdly convincing at the same time.

What makes Jerry instantly compelling is that the movie never turns him into a joke. Gibson plays him with a frantic, nervous energy that makes even simple conversations unpredictable. He looks like somebody whose brain is permanently running at full speed. But underneath all of Jerry’s strange behavior is fear. Real fear. The movie slowly reveals that this man is not simply eccentric. Something happened to him. Something broke him.

This mystery about the past becomes addictive to the viewer. Why is Jerry terrified of his everyday life? Why does he obsessively lock every door in his apartment? And why does he buy copies of “The Catcher in the Rye” like his life depends on it? The film keeps giving you just enough information to pull you deeper in without ruining the suspense. I also love the exterior shots featured on the streets of New York City that bring a specific texture.

Gibson commits to his character’s anxiety. This film might genuinely be one of his most underrated performances. This character isn’t “cool” in the classic sense, but that actually makes him stand out more as an unassuming protagonist. There is also something sad about Jerry, because even when he is ranting about bizarre conspiracies, you can tell he just wants a connection but barely knows how to function around people. This can be seen in the various scenes of Jerry talking to homeless people in Times Square, for example.

This need for connection becomes clear in his relationship with Alice Sutton, played by Julia Roberts. Alice works at the Justice Department and initially treats Jerry like the nuisance he appears to be. He constantly shows up at her office, rambles nervously, acts suspiciously, and clearly cares about her in a way he struggles to explain. On paper, this could easily become annoying, but somehow the movie makes their relationship work because of how emotionally broken Jerry feels.

Julia Roberts deserves a lot of credit here because she grounds the movie. She could have played Alice as someone permanently irritated, but instead, Roberts slowly reveals empathy underneath her skepticism. She plays Alice as someone trying to understand a person she cannot fully figure out. The chemistry between Gibson and Roberts works because it feels earned.

One minute, Jerry is ranting in a cab, and the next, he is being dragged into secret facilities, chased through the city, violently interrogated, or stumbling into terrifying truths he barely understands himself. The film knows exactly when to speed up and when to slow down. The editing style is one of a kind, and the sound design adds textures to the paranoia. It never feels repetitive because the tension keeps evolving. One of the smartest things “Conspiracy Theory” does is make paranoia itself entertaining.

And then there is the sense of menace hanging over everything. Without spoiling too much of the film, the people chasing Jerry feel genuinely threatening because the movie presents power as cold. The violence lands harder because it feels unpredictable. There are scenes in “Conspiracy Theory” that suddenly become brutal in ways you do not expect. The pacing is another huge reason the movie works. Even at over two hours, it rarely drags because every scene keeps the momentum fresh, building the relationship between Jerry and Alice, or throwing the audience into another moment of chaos.

My favorite scene in “Conspiracy Theory” is easily the first interrogation sequence. It is when Jerry is dragged in and questioned by the people pursuing him, led by the menacing Dr. Jonas, played by actor Patrick Stewart. It is at this moment that the film suddenly stops feeling eccentric and starts feeling genuinely like a thriller. Up to that point, Jerry’s paranoia almost comes across like nervous comedy, a man spinning endless theories while the world dismisses him as unstable, but this scene reframes everything.

Mel Gibson’s increasingly panicked behavior creates this suffocating atmosphere where the audience suddenly realizes Jerry may not be mad at all. There actually are people coming after him. And it is only the first of many twists within this film that keeps the viewer guessing. As Jerry notably says, “I’m only paranoid because they want me dead.”

What makes “Conspiracy Theory” stick with you is that it is incredibly watchable. I’m also a fan of the ending. Jerry Fletcher becomes somebody you root for. Alice becomes emotionally important because you care about her. The conspiracy becomes compelling because the film makes uncertainty exciting. At the center of everything is Mel Gibson, perfectly expressing fear, desperation, humor, confusion, and sadness. He makes Jerry feel damaged but human, overly suspicious but sympathetic. Combined with Julia Roberts’ warmth and the movie’s nonstop suspense, it turns “Conspiracy Theory” into far more than a simple thriller. There are many twists and turns along the way, up until the very end. If you are a fan of this movie, I would also recommend checking out “Running Scared” (2006), which celebrated its twentieth anniversary recently.

It is another film that brings an unrelenting, nonstop energy right from the opening credits. I rarely rewatch movies, but this is a movie you can watch anytime. Most importantly, it understands something a lot of thrillers forget: if the characters are compelling and the atmosphere pulls you in, audiences will happily follow along. “Conspiracy Theory” earns that trust and never lets go.