The 1990s was the pinnacle of the blockbuster legal thriller, with John Grisham adaptations spending a hot minute as one of Hollywood’s hottest crazes. The door was wide open for any number of spins on the standard setup, though, which is where Taylor Hackford’s The Devil’s Advocate came in.
Keanu Reeves gives one of his most underrated performances ⏤ complete with questionable accent ⏤ as a hotshot small town lawyer who ends up being headhunted by Al Pacino’s big city corporate heavyweight, only for a string of unexplainable and increasingly eerie events to befall him.
Depending on personal preference, the third act of The Devil’s Advocate is either a thing of beauty or so overwrought it derails the entire narrative, with Pacino dialing his own hammy turn well beyond 11 to inhale the scenery in the exceedingly loud way that only he can. That being said, the fact it’s still drawing in viewers 25 years later points to its long-lasting legacy.
Per FlixPatrol, the devilishly delicious tale of secrets, lies, and the gates of hell opening wide open has taken a spot on the Prime Video worldwide watch-list, and if you get on the same wavelength as The Devil’s Advocate, it remains an utter joy.
Warner Bros. did end up getting sued after the fact, though, and ended up not just settling the case but delaying the home video release and editing all future copies to ensure that a sculpture featuring the human form no longer bore a resemblance to those crated by Frederick Hart, which is an unexpectedly trivial footnote for an extravagantly over the top blockbuster to have by its name.