Solid film, CLOSE to what it should have been

Rating: 7/10 (4 November 2014)

I liked this film more the first couple of times I saw it in my teen years. But watching it again later in life, I've knocked it down a few pegs. The thing is, it's almost a great horror-thriller film. It has an interesting plot which I think is cohesive, well-paced, and exciting, UP TO A POINT. And that point is: The Climax.
The climax of The Devil's Advocate successfully manages to halt a speeding train. Everything that this film built up to seems to be discarded as it awkwardly stumbles through a slow-moving, disengaging climax which serves to explain motive, but doesn't serve the rest of the film at all. This is somewhat repaired towards the end of the climax, as the film DOES indeed finish out nicely. But only after having pushed the audience away emotionally. There's too much uninteresting and useless dialog contained (as an attempt to build motive), and it gets straight goofy at a point where the antagonist turns from menacing evil to "let's have a party" supervillain. All-in-all, it totally muddles it, and leaves you waiting for it to become interesting again.
It's a shame, as I could rate this movie a couple of points higher had they simply managed to handle the climax better. Re-write it, shorten it, what have you. But it killed the thrill and suspense that it built up to.
Another flaw in this film is that you see that Keanu Reeves isn't a very good actor. He's OKAY to mediocre in this film. I would have hoped that a main character dealing with such volatile circumstance could have been portrayed by someone with better emotional range. Be it Reeves or someone else. He's not even consistent, really. One scene, he does well in showing anger and frustration. Then another comes along, and it's clear he's trying too hard NOT to be wooden.
The film has some saving graces, so that's not to say that it isn't worth a viewing. Al Pacino is a class act, and could carry this film all on his own. As I mentioned previously, I still think that the rest of the movie is well-done in regards to storyline, pacing, and execution. It builds up the characters well, especially Reeves character, of which we're given a glowing indication of his priorities. It's not really unpredictable, as this is a film where the "twist" is heavily implied in the advertising as it is. But you don't only watch a film to keep guessing, you watch it for HOW the story is made in to cinema. The Devil's Advocate ALMOST got to where it should have been going.
I give the film a 7, and perhaps that's being generous. I do have to admit that I enjoyed it, for the most part. But that climax really stopped me from giving it at least a couple of points higher. You may want to check it out, as it's not a blatant waste of 144 minutes. Just a waste of 20 or so.