When you've got Gary Oldman wearing a red spandex and red lipstick in the role of the devil and James Brown, godfather of soul himself, complaining that the deal he got with the prince of darkness needs to be renegotiated because he's gotten too old to do splits, you know you've divided everyone who hears about it into two clearly marked, separated groups; those who reject it and those who are intrigued. Those that belong in the latter category probably wind up watching this commercial, are once again divided into two groups; those who love it and those who hate it. This is a clear-cut short film; either you love it or you hate it. But that doesn't mean that it's bad... just that it's limited. I don't know exactly why, but I'm thankful it is. Maybe it's because that allowed it to be what it wanted to be, what it had to be. What is that, you ask? Well, bizarre as hell, first of all. But also funny and stylish, not to mention quite intense. The race in the commercial is cool and exciting. The humor is very good... again, limited, but very good if you're into exactly that sort of thing... and I am. To an extent, at least. I laughed out loud at the 'twist' in the end. The editing and cinematography is very stylish, very typically Tony Scott. I liked all of the puns and jokes, both those concerning the devil himself and those concerning James Brown. The acting is good. Clive Owen once again delivers a perfect performance. All in all, just a very weird and bizarre yet entertaining little commercial. I recommend it to any fan of the commercials or any of the actors... and possibly fans of Tony Scott. 8/10
Review of Beat the Devil
