The Devil's Advocate

Watching it, I never would have guessed that Devil's Advocate went through five years of pre-production hell and that the filming was beset with difficulties and delays. Because everything about it feels like a totally coherent original vision that was fun for everyone to work on, from the actors and camera work to the sets and music. After all, even dead wood like Keanu Reeves gives a decent performance here. The best part is how the main story is propelled through interesting and intense subplots, and when the film opens with a close-up of the confused face of an underage witness, no one thinks that two hours later the main character will be shooting himself in the head surrounded by flames and black candles. Given the way the film slowly doles out information and odd situations, I would give anything to see it for the first time with no knowledge of what's behind it all. This is how genre movies were made in 1997, kids. Years later, I was quite taken aback by Al Pacino's prescient monologue about billions of Eddie Barzoons entering the new millennium. Tony Gilroy writes, others cry. (25/05/2020)

This film has four big assets: Al Pacino, whose portrayal of the Devil is unique, Charlize Theron, who’s even better as a woman falling into madness, great music by James Newton Howard, and an interesting and novel plot. Keanu Reeves does his best, but he's no match for the first two. Excellent thriller. (13/04/2003)

The bland greasy mythology, which at times literally detonates due to the director giving too much weight to the reality of the surrounding world, clashes here with solid performances and the typically sterile generic script, whose writers follow the mantra “we don't know where when how - as long as we have Al.” Pacino is a typically cocky dude with an amazing array of expressions, smirks, and poses that you can't help but fall in love with, even though he plays the literal king of villains. It's a shame that Hackford is just a plain craftsman who can't bring the necessary drive and fierceness to any movie about anything. The Devil himself would certainly need that at times. (16/04/2007)

But yeah, the beginning is slow and the ending is surprisingly bad compared to what we have been watching and how the film seemed in terms of what should be at the end. But those performances, uniquely dominated by Al Pacino, are simply good. Keanu Reeves fit perfectly for this role, but in comparison, you can still see how great Al Pacino is. Some scenes here are absolutely amazing, such as the one in the subway or the opening one in court. (25/09/2014)

Who would believe that after a slightly tired introduction, I would be so enthusiastic at the end? After each screening, I look forward to watching it again, already expecting that the beginning will seem better in the context of the rest of the story. It starts off so innocent, but that's when the biggest surprise comes, when the story starts to pick up pace and the atmosphere thickens to the point where you anticipate a fright with every shot. It's no wonder, director Hackford knows how to create very disturbing moments (a brilliant and dark sexual scene) and contrasting visual and sound inserts of mystery in innocent moments. However, it is difficult to judge how successful it would be without the actors. Reeves, in fact, delivers the best performance of his career and thanks to this film, Pacino has definitively become an incomparable acting chameleon. (25/08/2006)