Review of The Devil’s Advocate

Rating: 4 Stars

In a phrase: Al Pacino gives a 5 star performance while Keanu Reeves painfully attempts to act and use a southern accent.
Quote: “The twentieth century was undoubtedly mine”
Who will like it:
Me, People who like movies that make you think
People who won’t like it:
Southerners angry at their poor portrayal, Satan because Al Pacino put him to shame

The Devil’s Advocate is an awesome film that provides deep thinking in the same way as the old episodes of the Twilight Zone. A successful Southern defense lawyer (Keanu Reeves) is called to New York by a big time law firm run by John Milton (Al Pacino) to work in the big city. Reeves becomes consumed by his own vanity, and neglects his loving wife (What’s her face)
I hope I’m not revealing too much by saying that Al truly is Satan. He hints at it cleverly throughout the film. What is so beautiful is how he never actually forces anyone to sin. He doesn’t even entrap them. When he first introduces Reeves to the lavish law firm, he explains that it is their policy to “kill ‘em with kindness.” He later proclaims that he is greater than god, as he accepts man as he truly is. So many people who later realize how he has used them always marvel at what a good listener he was.
So with the thought provoking moral messages, why the four stars (frankly, I want to sink to three and a half, but this movie makes my top 20 favorites list and I would look kinda dumb with a three and a half star movie on there)? Keanu Reeves. He sucked throughout the movie, with a lousy accent and a lack of emotion in his voice and actions. If I could go back and recast one character in one movie in history, it would be that role. Yes, that is even considering The Phantom in the most recent Phantom of the Opera film and Hayden Christensen in the Star Wars films. That’s how TERRIBLE Keanu was.
But like I said, this movie’s plot and writing are top notch at all other points, and I highly recommend that you check it out.
Joel Schumacher was originally set to direct the film in 1994 with Brad Pitt to star as Kevin Lomax (Keanu's character). Taylor Hackford (the actual director) apparently thought the movie needed to be a little more gnarly.