Beat the Devil (2002)

A Brilliant Conflict

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

"Beat the Devil" is another of the BMW promo short movies starring Clive Owen from over 10 years ago. Unfortunately, it is not even close to the best of the series. A main reason for that is that there is simply too much focus here on the late James Brown. I thought his shtick got repetitive very quickly in here. It sort of destroyed the whole thing, which runs for 10 minutes by the way. Admittedly, the car race scene was not that appealing either. Such a shame. Gary Oldman as the Devil is great fun and he is the perfect choice for his role. He brings that perfect mix of intensity and insanity for the character. Owen lays fairly low here, so there is not too much to say about him this time. Danny Trejo plays a nothing character in one scene and Marylin Manson appears at the end, but is not as funny as they wanted his scene to be either. David Fincher worked on the script and the director is the late Tony Scott, brother of Ridley and I felt his direction was slightly too much all over the place for my taste. Apart from Oldman, this one really isn't worth a watch. Not recommended.

It is still not as good as the first series as the original is the original true. But it is good with usually bad guy Gary Oldman who has since reformed as the Commissioner of Gotham City and Machete's Danny Trejo against Clive Owen and the late, great James Brown.Brown feels that his soul has been corrupted by the devil aka Oldman. And wants to have the Driver win the race against the devil and Trejo doing the driving on the Vegas strip.In order to have his career back. As it is non-stop action in the seat of your pants thriller. As the Driver for him, it is just another day on the job for him. But for Brown it is do or die.

This, the third of the three short films starring Clive Owen and his precious BMW, goes where the first two didn't, and succeeds. While "Hostage" is weak and "Ticker" is good, "Beat the Devil" is supreme. Clive Owen continues to play the straight man well, especially framed by James Brown in all his exciting glory and Gary Oldman as the scary, eccentric prince of darkness. All three deliver perfect performances in the roles given to them, hitting the subtleties of each character perfectly. The film manages to highlight the BMW while not being a shameless plug. And all of this is greatly and masterfully accentuated by superb directing and cinematography on the part of Tony Scott and Paul Cameron, respectively. This offbeat movie is entertaining and enjoyable from start to finish, it is everything a short film should be. Masterful. Positively masterful.

So that's how James Brown did it..."Beat the Devil" is worth 8 minutes of your time. If you are interested in watching Gary Oldman in a "Darkness" type suit on with wacky hair and makeup, this movie is for you! Of course Clive Owen plays the mysterious type really well, and as always looks good in a BMW. And then there is James Brown. He has some pretty good lines and he had a good pace...not a bad actor. It is actually pretty funny if you think about it... I mean James Brown wanting to renegotiate a contract with the devil! And since the only way the devil likes it is "winner take all", then they have to race down through Las Vegas and the desert. If this movie were made into a normal length film, I would definitely see it.