The Devil's Advocate

If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is... That's what "Kevin" (Keanu Reeves) must learn to appreciate after he is offered a dream job at a prestigious New York legal firm by "Milton" (Al Pacino). The potential wealth and the status of his new career path bring out the green-eyed monster in him and together with his reluctant wife "Mary-Ann" (Charlize Theron) they are soon living it up in their penthouse apartment with plenty of money but an increasingly dwindling amount of time together. She starts to cool on their arrangement and wants to return to Florida but pretty soon it's clear that "Kevin" is addicted - and not to her! Pacino is on good form here as it becomes clear just who his character is, and how adeptly he is pulling all the strings and manoeuvring his new charge into a position that might suggest that the clue is in the title! Now as a life-long lover of the baddie in films, I felt a bit let down by the ending. Faust it isn't - but, to be fair, it still goes as close as Hollywood will probably ever go in portraying a characterisation of the epitome of evil (and offering a wonderful critique on vanity being the downfall of mankind) that actually has a fighting chance of prevailing! Reeves is not the finest actor to grace our screens. Easy on the eye, certainly, but somehow he's just a bit too lightweight here. That might be because, however, Pacino is very much in his element and even though it can drag at times during the almost 2½ hour running time, it's a remarkably compelling ride that still holds up quite well.

OK, full disclosure, I have a thing for Al Pacino. I'll watch just about anything he's in and...if he screams and yells a monologue in it, if he delivers a diatribe of rage....yeah I get flashbacks to him screaming: "I'd take a flame thrower to this place" and roll my eyes back like a shark in a feeding frenzy. Oh, yeah, almost forgot, Keanu is in this one too...but for a good slice of the film he doesn't play the most savory of characters and, really, honestly, he just seems too nice to play a lawyer... ...but despite that he does a pretty good job of exhibiting the ego that has to come with the law profession...just not the vile evilness. So, I can't totally fault him for miscast as I could for Dracula. Jeffery Jones is in there too and due to recent revelations he totally fits the sleazy lawyer role. But yeah, 1997, the 90s had a way with films that was only really beaten by the 70s and The Devil's Advocate is one of those films that could really only be made in those two decades. Stand alone horror not intended as a franchise piece and one with a twist that asks you to think a little. No way that would be made today and that is a shame. I could tout its glory, but really, honestly, the movie could have stank and I wouldn't care thanks to Pacino screaming "I'm a fan of man!" It's worth the watch.

Apparently I saw this before (had a rating on my computer program) but didn't really remember much of it. A bit uneven between a serious drama with supernatural fantasy, but I had fun with these performances by Reeves and Pacino (forgot how normal he once looked) and never a bad thing with Charlize Theron and Connie Nielsen being there for the obvious reasons. Not great and could've cut some of the running time but still found it somewhat entertaining. **3.5/5**