Doesn't really live up to its hype

Rating: 5/10 (11 May 2013)

This was one film I had been wanting to watch for quite some time now, and I got around to it just a while back. I had some really good expectations from this movie, as I had read about it on IMDb and other movie sites, and I had thought it would be a courtroom thriller filled with suspense.
But I have to say I was a bit disappointed with what I saw. The film is about a hotshot Florida lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) who has never lost a case in his entire career. A New York law firm enlists his help to select a jury for a case and recognizing his talent, offers him a job. Lomax accepts and becomes quite close to his boss, John Milton (Al Pacino) during the course of his work. But he gradually begins to uncover some strange facets of Milton's personality and finally realizes that he is none other than Satan himself.
Now, such a premise should surely set the stage for a riveting thriller filled with suspense and mystery. But sadly, it doesn't. I think the main reason is Keanu Reeves' performance. I couldn't really buy the idea of him being an argumentative lawyer who could acquit a rapist in spite of the pile of evidence staring him in the face, especially as this is what is shown in the first scene of the film. If the scene is supposed to convince the viewer of the talent of this young lawyer, it doesn't really pass the test. The only thing it does is invariably draw comparisons to the courtroom scenes in "A Few good Men", which had fabulous dialogues, coupled with one of Tom Cruise's finest performances ever. So it is asking a lot to make the audience believe that Lomax hasn't yet lost a case.
Apart from this, the film does have a few things going for it. The pace is fast and well set, and for a first time viewing, there is no scene which makes you feel bored, irksome or irritable. And, of course, there's Al Pacino. His thunderous voice and arrogant demeanour are enough to make the viewer feel uncomfortable about him, and it isn't really hard to associate his character with that of the Devil.
The other characters merely serve as pretexts for Lomax's wife to lose control over herself and imagine things related to hell, Satan and all that stuff.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend this as a must-see, but probably something you might just rent at a DVD store when your other choices aren't that appealing.