Keanu Reeves has never been my favorite actor. He rarely moves me to forget who I'm watching on the screen. Mind you, he's got a lot of company in Hollywood, but in general, I don't think much of Mr. Reeves.

That said, The Devil's Advocate is probably Reeves' best performance since Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure because the truth is, I did stop thinking that I was watching Reeves. It's Al Pacino I never lost sight of. Pacino is Pacino in this film. I kept thinking of his portrayal of Lt. Col. Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman. No Academy Awards for acting in this film. Enough about that.

The Devil's Advocate is all about ... no I can't tell you that. It would be telling. The Devil's Advocate is about a young lawyer (Reeves) who has never lost a case. He is recruited by a large New York law firm owned and run by ... the Devil (Pacino). There's lots of temptation in this film, which kept reminding me of The Last Temptation of Christ. This was fun, because it's when you push someone to the edges of their morality, that you find out the juicy bits. The Devil's Advocate is really a character film with a few magic tricks tossed in here and there.

Because this is a character piece, it's very easy to get sucked into it. Toss in a really slick twist at the end, and you'll probably like this one.

Slight Suction!

Film Facts

Cast
• Keanu Reeves
• Al Pacino
• Charlize Theron
• Jeffrey Jones
• Judith Ivey
• Connie Nielsen
• Craig T. Nelson
• Tamara Tunie
• Ruben Santiago-Hudson
• Debra Monk
• Vyto Ruginis
• Laura Harrington
• Pamela Gray
• Heather Matarazzo
• George Wyner
• Christopher Bauer
• Connie Embesi
• Jonathan Cavallary
• Murphy Guyer
• Leo Burmester
• Bill Moor
• Neal Jones
• Eddie Aldridge
• Mark Deakins
• Rony Clanton
• George Gore II
• Alan Manson
• Brian Poteat
• Daniel Oreskes
• Kim Chan
• Caprice Benedetti
• Don King
• Ray Garvey
• Rocco Musacchia
• Susan Kellerman
• James Saito
• Harsh Nayyar
• M.B. Ghaffari
• Nicki Cochrane
• Fenja Klaus
• Gino Lucci
• Novella Nelson
• Vincent Laresca
• Benny Nieves
• Franci Leary
• Gloria Lynne Henry
• Jorge Navarro
• Jose Fernandes Torres
• Antonio Vargas Cortes
• Elena Camunez Andujar
• Monica Keena
• Linda Atkinson
• William Hill
• Juan Hernandez
• Wei Mei
• E. Katherine Kerr
• Liza Harris
• Bill Boggs
• Bo Rucker
• Michael Lombard
• Marc Manfro
• J. Nester
• John Rothman
• George Sperdakos
• Hollis Granville
• Edward Seamon
• Patrick Joseph Byrnes
• Gregory Lichtenson
• Socorro Santiago
• Marcia DeBonis
• Marie Stuart Vassallo
• Tom Riis Farrell
• Harold Surratt
• Alfonse D'amato
• Charles Gagano
• Lou Rudin
• Ernie Grunseld
• Alan Grubman
• Al Cerullo
• Cliff Hackford
• Rich Campbell
• Mike Nugent
• Al Santoriello
• Dave Noyes
• Delroy Lindo

Directed by Taylor Hackford

Released in 1997

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewed by Mongo