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The Devil's Advocate

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The Devil's Advocate (1997)

October. 17,1997
|
7.5
|
R
| Drama Horror Thriller Mystery
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Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm. With the stakes getting higher every case, Kevin quickly learns that his boss has something far more evil planned.

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Reviews

Colibel
1997/10/17

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

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Listonixio
1997/10/18

Fresh and Exciting

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ActuallyGlimmer
1997/10/19

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

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Guillelmina
1997/10/20

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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merelyaninnuendo
1997/10/21

The Devil's AdvocateSetting up the plot and characters for more than an hour is too much especially if there isn't any thread to hold on to for the audience after which the movie paces up for its surprising final act but till then it is hard to come back.

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zkonedog
1997/10/22

"The Devil's Advocate" is a strange motion picture. In some ways, it is a complete and utter mess. Yet, it touches on such interesting themes and contains such great acting that it is tough to rank it as anywhere near "bad".For a basic plot summary, "Devil's Advocate" sees hotshot lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) move from his small southern practice to the "big time" in New York with wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron). Employed by the mysterious John Milton (Al Pacino), Kevin begins to realize that his "dream job" may be a bit more complicated (and ultimately cosmic) than he could have possibly imagined.In terms of acting, this film is top-notch through and through. Al Pacino was born to play the nefarious Milton, Reeves gives a solid performance as the conflicted lawyer, and Theron is startling as the mentally-slipping (or is she?) wife. For fans specifically of Pacino watching this film to see one of his "rants", you will not be disappointed, either.The conflicting part of the movie, however, lies in its multitude of themes. Such topics as "God vs. Devil", "Innocence vs. Guilt", "Small-Town vs. Big City", "Ethics vs. Greed", and "Husband vs. Wife" are touched upon. Each theme in and of itself is extremely interesting and could carry the film without the others, but the problem is that they all smooshed together for two and a half hours. Just when you think the movie is about one thing...BAM, it switches to something else. While that filmmaking is admirable in terms of keeping the viewers glued to the screen, director Taylor Hackford could have done a much better job of sorting things out to produce a clean, crisp narrative, instead of one that jumps so often from theme to theme.Overall, this was one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. The acting and plot elements are incredible, but it just tries to do too much and gets lost within itself at times. It could have been epic, but instead (because of those flaws) settles for "above average". If you are a Pacino or Reeves fan, or just like movies that will make you think, "The Devil's Advocate" is very much worth a viewing. It may not fit together perfectly, but you'll be thinking about it long after the TV is turned off.

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Uriah43
1997/10/23

This movie begins with a talented criminal lawyer named "Kevin Lomax" (Keanu Reeves) defending an accused child molester in a Florida courtroom. Although he becomes convinced that his client is guilty he decides to win the case in spite of it all. After he does a man from a law firm in New York appears and offers him a deal to go there and assist them in selecting a jury for a specific trial. When the jury votes to acquit he is then invited to meet the man who owns the law firm who goes by the name of "John Milton" (Al Pacino). But just as Kevin Lomax is no ordinary lawyer, John Milton is no ordinary man--and he has a deal for Kevin that is extremely tempting. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I thought this was an exciting movie for the most part with good performances from Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron (as "Mary Ann Lomax") and Connie Nielsen ("Christabella Andreoli"). However, there were some parts which could have used some improvement along with the ending which seemed a bit too convenient in my opinion. Additionally, there was quite a bit of profanity and nudity which some viewers might need to know beforehand as well. Even so, I enjoyed this film and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

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Leofwine_draca
1997/10/24

A flashy, nauseating updating of all those '40s melodramas which had everyday folk teaming up with the devil in human form for all kinds of moral adventures, THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE is a huge disappointment for this viewer. Even the usually reliable Al Pacino can't save this movie, which at the end has him going way over the top with his typical shouty-shouty nonsense and making himself look like a complete fool. Despite being a high-budget production with some good makeup from old-hand Rick Baker and some brief morphing sequences, THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE is an annoyingly insubstantial little movie with a miscast hero in Keanu Reeves.Reeves of course is more suited to action fare like SPEED or THE MATRIX and scenes of him attempting to emote in this film are hard to watch, despite his pretty good attempts at being determined and forceful in the courtroom scenes. Although not without merit, and surprisingly understated for the majority of its running time, THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE fails at the end in being a piece of serious drama. The first reason is because of the stupid one-liners which the film is populated with, the second the over-the-top finale which relies on bad CGI far too much and ends up being a simple slanging match between hero and villain.By far the best acting on screen comes (somewhat surprisingly) from Charlize Theron (THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE), who plays Reeves's put-upon wife. Of course, it's a choice role to play and Theron is very good indeed in portraying her character's mental breakdown (on the other hand, you just want to break Keanu's nose for being such a total, blind idiot to miss what's happening around him). Some of the vignettes and subplots surrounding the main story (like the one with Jeffrey Jones, who is attacked by demonic winos) are pretty enjoyable and the film has an expensive, glossy look to it as well. It's just a shame that some restraint couldn't have been brought in over the out-of-control actors and that some real suspense and tension couldn't have been worked into the storyline; never have I been so uninterested in a movie as it nears its explosive climatic showdown, but THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE repeatedly fails to invest the viewer with any excitement or interest, which is a real shame.

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