The movie employs the classic what-if formula. In this case, it's what if Ted Kaczynski or any of the other members on the roster of lunatics mentioned in the film (David Berkowitz, Lee Harvey Oswald, Ronald Reagan, etc.) where actually sane people with meaning and purpose to their lives.

In Conspiracy Theory, the well-intended lunatic is a New York City cabdriver that goes by the name of Jerry Fletcher. Mel Gibson, who has the perfect comic flair for the job, does an extraordinary job with the character. It is Gibson's adept delivery of Fletcher's non-stop lunacy that keeps the film afloat.

Partick Stewart

Fletcher's love interest in the movie is Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts), an attorney for the Justice Department. Sutton serves as Fletcher's principal target to espouse his endless anxiety-ridden theories. Unfortunately for Fletcher, we soon find that at least one of these theories is, in fact, true. It arrives in the storyline via Dr. Jonas, an evil mind-control specialist played by Patrick Stewart.

Conspiracy Theory is high intrigue for the MTV generation. The film is fast-paced and loaded with one knee-slapping one-liner after another (e.g., Patient says: Doc, I've only got three minutes to live is there anything you can do? Doctor answers: Well, I can boil an egg.) As the opening credits roll by, we find the story already in progress. There's no opportunity for boredom here. On an entertainment level (which is what most of us are there for, after all), the movie succeeds brilliantly.

The plot employs a familiar theme: The little guy versus mass corruption lodged in the highest ranks of our society. Conspiracy Theory, however, takes this concept to the umpteenth degree. In fact, much of the movie is slightly far-fetched, but with the injection of some well-placed shots of humor, it manages to pull it off -- we're too busy laughing to be burdened by disbelief at any one point in the story.

One problem with Conspiracy Theory is that it almost seemed like two films. The first half of the movie, our introduction to Fletcher -- his personality, his environment and his involvement with Sutton -- is an excellent and highly original piece of work. Part B, however, bogs down a bit: The confusing plot becomes ever more difficult to swallow and ever more troublesome to understand.

I also had a bit of a problem with Patrick Stewart in the part of the evil Dr. Jonas. As always, Stewart delivers a performance par excellence, however, I've seen him so many times as the esteemed Jean-Luc Picard that I found it tough to embrace him as a villainous sadist. I kept expecting him to belt out "engage" or "make it so" at any given moment, and I never developed the necessary antipathy towards his character to make the movie work at its most effective level.

Conspiracy Theory does succeed in building a solid connection between the audience and its primary characters, Fletcher and Sutton. You root for Jerry Fletcher throughout the film. When it appears he has died, at the movie's close, you begin to grieve along with Alice Sutton. (Fortunately, this is a Warner Bros. release and, of course, Jerry is not really dead.)

In short, Conspriracy Theory does have enough strong elements in it -- including fine performances by Gibson, Roberts and Stewart -- to make it worth your while. Is it Oscar winning stuff? Doubt it, but then again, the competition out there is pretty slim these days, isn't it.