The Devil’s Advocate is, dare I say, a devilish supernatural suspense-thriller with excellent performances from both Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves.
The Devil’s Advocate
— Unrated Director’s Cut —
(1997)
Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy
Warner Bros. | Unrated – 144 min. – $19.98 | September 18, 2012
Date Published: 09/28/2012 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 4½/5 |
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Plot Outline:Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax (KEANU REEVES) accepts a high-powered position at a New York law firm headed by legal shark John Milton (AL PACINO). As Kevin moves up in the firm’s ranks, his wife, Mary Ann (CHARLIZE THERON), has several frightening, mystical experiences that begin to warp her sense of reality. With the stakes getting higher with each case, Kevin quickly learns that his mentor is planning a far greater evil than simply winning without scruples. Quick Hit Review: The Devil’s Advocate is a refreshingly dark and, dare I say, devilish thriller which features an intriguing plot, intense character moralistic dilemmas and solid performances all around. First, Keanu Reeves has never been better and shows more range than anything he’s done before and since (save for maybe The Matrix); Al Pacino is pitch perfect as the firm’s founder/King of Darkness, meaning he’s able to go over-the-top but it fits the character so well, though there’s plenty of toned down scenes; Charlize Theron as Reeves’ wife brings great balance. Also a highlight, and sometimes overlooked, is the score by James Newton Howard. The film was directed by Taylor Hackford, whose career I’ve enjoyed from An Officer and a Gentleman early in his career to Blood In, Blood Out and the underrated Proof of Life. It was based on the novel by Andrew Neiderman and adapted by Jonathan Lemkin (Lethal Weapon 4, Red Planet) and Tony Gilroy (Bourne franchise, Michael Clayton). Note: Although the cover says this is the “Unrated Director’s Cut”, there’s, from what I can tell, no new content from the DVD release. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2/5 |
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Everything except some production notes and 4 Trailers and TV Spots were ported over. What we do get is a Feature Commentary with Director Taylor Hackford, 12 Deleted Scenes (7:04; SD) and the Theatrical Trailer (2:21; HD). |
VIDEO – 4¼/5 |
| Warner Brothers releases The Devil’s Advocate on Blu-ray presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and 1080p high-definition transfer. I was fairly impressed with the picture quality as it has plenty of natural film grain without it being overpowering or taking away from the detail levels. The color arrangement also looks nice and comes off the small screen very nicely. |
AUDIO – 4½/5 |
| The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track provided is well done with good dialogue levels from the center channel, some ambient noises making use of the rear speakers and the bulk of the action spread from the center and front speakers. It’s a nice and pristine lossless track which most of the time is subtle (given there’s not that much action) yet gives that home theater experience a fair number of catalogue titles fail to do. |
OVERALL – 4/5 |
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Overall, The Devil’s Advocate is, dare I say, a devilish supernatural suspense-thriller with excellent performances from both Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves. The Blu-ray doesn’t offer much in the way of features but the audio and video transfer prove to be more than satisfactory and worth the price of admission in conjunction with a fantastic movie. |