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| It�s not paranoia if they�re really after you. �CONSPIRACY THEORY� reunites director Richard Donner with Mel Gibson (both, respectively, of �Lethal Weapon� directing/ starring fame), Gibson a middle-aged cabbie plagued by disturbing black-outs wrenched with confusing flash-backs relating to tests that were done on him years before: tests that unsuccessfully tried to turn him into an assassin via the highly temperamental low-art of brainwashing. Patrick Stewart�s the bad guy, while Julia Roberts is made for Gibson (she just doesn�t know it herself till the end) as the woman who unwittingly is forced to team up with his wacky Jerry character for the thrill, wry humour-spilling ride� playing �Cat & Mouse� as the nomark brainwashers are consistently outsmarted (somehow) by Gibson. It�s long (130 mins) and far-fetched, but the generously livewire, strobe-enlightened action scenes are original, and the unsentimentally open-ended final scene means the writing/ making of a sequel wouldn�t be an impossibility. (STEVE RUDD) | ||