SPOILERS! SPOILERS! You've been warned!

Rating: 6/10 (12 December 2006)

One had to expect only the most memorable results from an association between Taurus Films and Warner Bros. - and as much as I disagree with many elements of the end product, 1997's The Devil's Advocate certainly is that; memorable...
I lament the fact though that, like quite a few other similar offerings, it offered only the most violent and repulsive resolution as a possible means of triumph over evil. I guess that they catered to the most obvious common denominator in doing so, and since almost everyone out there would take the easy way out if they were faced with the Adversary himself, they thought that it was the way "to go" - literally... Also, quite obviously, almost everyone else out there is self-loathing to the extreme, so double the reason right there to go this route, I suppose.
Neiderman's novel, which served as the basis for this one, was itself inspired by various other opuses, it is evident, as the movie itself is reminiscent of previous fare in the same genre as well... Disappointing, as is the choice of first name for the actual advocate here...!
The devil's DAUGHTER though is a true and true temptress... No disappointment there!
Not one but TWO suicides mar "The Devil's Advocate" - first, the poor MaryAnn, portrayed magnificently by Charlize Theron (between this and being "The Astronaut's Wife", she really doesn't know how to pick'em! May have been why she turned into a Monster afterwards...?) And then the title character himself (it still feels awful to call any lead character "Kevin" - let's say Keanu instead! Darn - that sounds odd too... Not as much though! At least, this isn't a Bill & Ted feature... *Whew*!). And it is not quite acceptable to wipe everything off at the end and still have the mandatory "happy ending" - complete with EVIL STILL LURKS AND IS MOST DEFINITELY NOT DEFEATED AT ALL after taste - after TWO GRUESOME SUICIDE SCENES! At least, "Fallen" was not so hypocritical and stuck with its "very unhappy ending" - for pure logic's sake! Both films err in the same manner anyway though - to pretend that the only way to elude an opponent such as the ultimate Adversary (no, it isn't Death! Death is, in many ways, either but a tool or even a friend...!) is through auto-destruction and nothing else is simply the WRONG MESSAGE TO SEND... There's no either way to battle the devil in Tinseltown? In real life there are plenty: crucifixes, holy water, prayer! Alas, none of these are regular props in these flicks... Lots of kiddies watch these films, you know! Hollywood has to be more careful with this sort of thing... They want not to spread such things as "piousness" and "faith" now...! We dare not offend nor alienate all the other beliefs now...! As it already the case, only the sun will destroy vampires - lest we make them vulnerable to ALL symbols of ALL religions, we make them invulnerable to all and do not even broach the subject anymore! Alas, the first bloodsucker, Dracula (or Polidori's character that prefigured Drac...) were NOT vulnerable to the sunlight but were vulnerable to other things... Guess what it was now!
No heroes should simply escape the conflict by blowing themselves up... Hopefully, Jack Sparrow never considered eluding Davy Jones' Locker Room by offing himself too now! Surely not; it is a Disney movie and they want another sequel anyway!
I know that I lauded Al Pacino's performance in Carlito's Way - but, here, I shall remain silent about his histrionics as "the devil"...
It is amusing though to note that both "Fallen" and "The Devil's Advocate" (as also "Interview With A Vampire", of course) had a Rolling Stones song playing as they finally rolled the end credits... Sexagenarian, sex-obsessed rock'n'rollers who are STILL going strong; they must have indeed struck a deal with the devil (but they're not vampires - no) - hence the music fits on more than one level here!