Devil’s Advocate on DVD
I remember when I first got a computer with a DVD-ROM drive. What a thrilling thought it was that not only could I play music CD’s, but now I could also watch entire movies right on my PC! Would there ever be an end to the wonders of this inspiring age of technology? Could it get any better in terms of entertainment value? Would the damn thing even PLAY the movie?
It was that last question I hadn’t thought to ask when I signed up for Netflix the very first time, a few years back. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that my sparkly new computer could handle a simple DVD. Besides, if it didn’t work I had my then recently acquired Playstation 2 as back-up. Turns out it didn’t work. Shocker. Neither would the PS2 play the disc. Rage. After instant messaging some death threats to more technically attuned acquaintances of mine I was finally educated in the intricate art of making computers play DVDs. It was a hellish (har) pain in the ass.
The story here involves some bigshot actors who I’m going to assume you’re familiar with the work of because that lessens the amount of typing I have to do. Keanu Reeves plays the protagonist of the film, named Kevin Lomax. Charlize Theron acts as his wifely counterpart, Mary Ann. John Milton is the name of Al Pacino’s character. Basically Kevin is a lawyer with a record that’s all wins and John Milton is a powerful legal type from New York who’s interested in bringing dear Mr. Lomax aboard the firm of Milton, Chadwick & Waters. Come to think of it, it’d make a great song: "The devil went down to Florida to score himself a hotshot attorney…"
Now of course Al Pacino is playing a diabolical force from Hell as he usually does so I won’t be spoiling anything by letting you know that. I’ll omit the cheesey ‘lawyers are evil’ jokes so we can move forward with the review. The general challenge laid out before Lomax is your basic question of how far you’ll go find success. Nothing new in that aspect, and honestly, overall I found the film fairly predictable.
The set design for this movie was top-notch. The luxury of the surroundings that the Lomax couple enjoy makes terrific eyecandy and also helps to make Kevin’s choice a bit more understandable. In the presence of such grandiose extravagance I could see how it might be hard to consider whether defending child molestors and murderers was all that wrong. Wait, no I can’t. I suppose that’s why I’d not make such a terrific defense lawyer. In a stroke of true irony, those who made the movie actually got in trouble for props that too closely resembled the sculpture on the facade of the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. This was changed for the DVD release but not before several without the editing had been produced. I wonder if those are hard to get ahold of?
As the story comes to a close it definitely gets weird. Since it’s supposed to be a bit of a mystery, I don’t want to give out too many details on what all happens in the film. Suffice it to say that you’ll get to meet the devil, but not Mrs. Jones and that you’ll find out whether or not there is a son of Satan and furthermore if there is, would he have sex with his sister? These questions nagged me until The Devil’s Advocate revealed all. I feel better knowing.
In closing, I give this movie a 3 out of 5 because Keanu Reeves is a pain to watch and Al Pacino didn’t do enough killing, nor did he pick up one single machinegun. It’s picky of me, I know but SOMEONE has got to stand up for what’s right!
Until we meet again, this is GlowStormLion cordially inviting you to say hello to his little friend.
-- by GlowStormLion of http://www.happyhorror.com
Tags: dvd, horror movies
