Beat the Devil
Beat the Devil
| 22 November 2002 (USA)
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The Driver drag-races the Devil, in order to earn James Brown his soul.

Reviews
Linbeymusol

Wonderful character development!

TinsHeadline

Touches You

Platicsco

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Juana

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

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silvercable14

This film is pretty crazy. Of the many BMW films, this one has to be the most odd, yet interesting of them all.The film stars Clive Owen (Sin City, Closer) as the Driver (a guy who drives people around in a BMW), Gary Oldman (True Romance, Batman Begins), as the Devil himself, and James Brown (the King of Soul) as, well, himself.James Brown has a contract with the Devil, in which he has sold his soul for fame and fortune, but, alas, he did not put in a clause about Aging. So, without his moves, he can no longer be famous. He wants to renegotiate his contract so that he is younger so he can still preform, and Clive Owen is caught in the middle of it all. James Brown bets that he can beat the devil in a race, and, if he does, he will receive his youth.This short is directed by Tony Scott (Domino, Top Gun), in his newer style, much like that of Domino and Man on Fire. The quick paced-ness makes the short immensely fun to watch and exciting to look at. The vibrancy of the colors and style of the characters adds a richness to a great story.Part of the BMW line of shorts films, each with a different director, this one stands out as amazing and shocking at the same time. You wouldn't expect a film about a car to be this insane.

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TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews

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

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BigJim5021

You just can't beat Gary Oldman... it's that simple. All of the BMW films are fun little romps, and this one is no exception. And as for the guy that posted before me about the explosions not making sense... It was the Devil in that amazing exploding car, so maybe you should a) suspend disbelief... or b) imagine it as if those explosions are a result of the Prince of Darkness losing a race... I mean... there is a lot of fire in Hell.On a side note, both Brown and Manson were hilarious, and Owen was as charismatic as usual. Not to mention that I enjoyed seeing Danny Trejo in it, even though you can see him in basically every movie made in the last 10 years.yippie/10

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studiojudio

No matter what Gary Oldman does, he is simply the most exciting actor in the world to observe! And, not only is he marvelous as the devil in this little thriller - but he looks good enough to digest! This man can NEVER do anything wrong; Bravo to his making yet another movie HIS!

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