<color=darkred>Previous Review: <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.292499-2-50-Reviews-Vampires-Suck-2010>Vampires SuckNext Review: <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.294260-2-50-Reviews-Reservoir-Dogs-1992>Reservoir Dogs
$2.50 Reviews:
Devil
<img height=400>http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/16/09/70/40/poster21.jpg
Like many other people who have seen the trailer for Devil, I laughed. However, my laughter came before the name "M. Night Shyamalan" appeared on the screen. No, I was already laughing hysterically when I learned about the premise. Said premise involves a few people being trapped in an elevator for an undisclosed amount of time, while they begin to drop like flies. Everyone is a suspect, and they all have vague reasons for the audience to suspect them of being the murderer.
[Img_Inline width="275" height="177" Caption="Here are the people in the elevator." Align="left"]http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/16/09/70/40/devil110.jpg[/Img_Inline]
But hold on for just one moment. How does being a pickpocket make you a murderer? Or, how does blackmailing rich men make you think that someone would be capable of knocking off 4 other human beings? There's two characters down right away. Another is being investigated for costing people a lot of money in a pyramid scam that fell through. That doesn't scream "bloody murder" to me. One of them has a violent history, while the final one is pinned to the incredibly terrible crime of not signing in at the front desk.
So now, out of the criminals I've just mentioned, who do you think the murderer might be? If you guessed that it was the one with the violent history, I'm not going to tell you. If you guessed anyone else, I'm still not going to tell you. However, there's a very good chance that you are wrong. See, the person is actually inconsequential in this murdering scheme. One of the characters is actually the Devil, although his motivation is never made clear to the audience. I suppose he just needs more company down there.
As I was watching Devil, I was entertained. The plot and premise didn't actually bother me as much as I thought it would. Considering the fact that I burst out in laughter when I first saw the trailer, I anticipated that I would be laughing through most of the film. I didn't. Instead, I found myself intermittently glued to the screen. At times, there is a lot of intensity and drama happening. At others, however, I was bored. In a film that's 80 minutes long, there shouldn't be any moments of boredom.
[Img_Inline width="275" height="177" Caption="Did he just throw someone into a pit?" Align="right"]http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/16/09/70/40/devil-10.jpg[/Img_Inline]
The majority of these moments of boredom don't occur when we're in the elevator with these characters. Instead, we're outside the elevator with a large cast of random, somewhat pointless characters who are trying to discover who might be the murderer. When trying to find out their backgrounds, I started dozing. And then there was a completely unnecessary subplot about the main detective (Chris Messina) who, at one time, was an alcoholic. But he isn't any more. That's all that comes from that.
Something that I did like about Devil was the acting. Not the characters, but the actors playing them. They all seemed believable enough, even if their characters sometimes made really poor decisions. I enjoyed watching these people, and this was a very good thing, because had the characters not been well-acted, any scenes with attempted tension likely would have fallen flat.
As I think more about Devil, I become more infuriated by it. Not because I believe that it was bad, or not worth a watch, but because how silly it ended up being resonates more and more. I think about how it ended, most of the pointless scenes, and how many plot points there were that didn't make complete sense. And after I've thought about that, I think that the movie was ultimately worse than I thought it was while watching it.
[Img_Inline width="275" height="159" Caption="That's gotta hurt her palm though..." Align="left"]http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/16/09/70/40/devil210.jpg[/Img_Inline]
Leaving a really poor taste in my mouth after watching it gives me a poor final opinion on Devil. I didn't dislike it while watching it, and in fact, I was having a decent enough time. Does that make it a film that you can turn your brain off and watch it just to have fun? Well, you could, but to me, that makes it sound like a bad movie. If you have to turn your brain off to enjoy a film, then it's not a good film to begin with. If you have to ignore all of its problems just to somewhat enjoy it, then you're not dealing with a very good film to begin with.
Devil isn't a film that is all that great, but you can have a decent enough time while watching it. The actors were actually the best part, and because of their good performances, there are some thrilling scenes. I'll maintain that the premise is silly, and there are a large number of plot points that don't add up to anything, but it's a movie that can be enjoyable. But don't think too hard, because you'll end up with a negative lasting impression.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
If you are a fan of my reviews, and want to boost my ego receive notifications when new reviews are posted, or find an old review, please join/visit this <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/2-50-Reviews>user group.
$2.50 Reviews:
Devil
<img height=400>http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/16/09/70/40/poster21.jpg
Like many other people who have seen the trailer for Devil, I laughed. However, my laughter came before the name "M. Night Shyamalan" appeared on the screen. No, I was already laughing hysterically when I learned about the premise. Said premise involves a few people being trapped in an elevator for an undisclosed amount of time, while they begin to drop like flies. Everyone is a suspect, and they all have vague reasons for the audience to suspect them of being the murderer.
[Img_Inline width="275" height="177" Caption="Here are the people in the elevator." Align="left"]http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/16/09/70/40/devil110.jpg[/Img_Inline]
But hold on for just one moment. How does being a pickpocket make you a murderer? Or, how does blackmailing rich men make you think that someone would be capable of knocking off 4 other human beings? There's two characters down right away. Another is being investigated for costing people a lot of money in a pyramid scam that fell through. That doesn't scream "bloody murder" to me. One of them has a violent history, while the final one is pinned to the incredibly terrible crime of not signing in at the front desk.
So now, out of the criminals I've just mentioned, who do you think the murderer might be? If you guessed that it was the one with the violent history, I'm not going to tell you. If you guessed anyone else, I'm still not going to tell you. However, there's a very good chance that you are wrong. See, the person is actually inconsequential in this murdering scheme. One of the characters is actually the Devil, although his motivation is never made clear to the audience. I suppose he just needs more company down there.
As I was watching Devil, I was entertained. The plot and premise didn't actually bother me as much as I thought it would. Considering the fact that I burst out in laughter when I first saw the trailer, I anticipated that I would be laughing through most of the film. I didn't. Instead, I found myself intermittently glued to the screen. At times, there is a lot of intensity and drama happening. At others, however, I was bored. In a film that's 80 minutes long, there shouldn't be any moments of boredom.
[Img_Inline width="275" height="177" Caption="Did he just throw someone into a pit?" Align="right"]http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/16/09/70/40/devil-10.jpg[/Img_Inline]
The majority of these moments of boredom don't occur when we're in the elevator with these characters. Instead, we're outside the elevator with a large cast of random, somewhat pointless characters who are trying to discover who might be the murderer. When trying to find out their backgrounds, I started dozing. And then there was a completely unnecessary subplot about the main detective (Chris Messina) who, at one time, was an alcoholic. But he isn't any more. That's all that comes from that.
Something that I did like about Devil was the acting. Not the characters, but the actors playing them. They all seemed believable enough, even if their characters sometimes made really poor decisions. I enjoyed watching these people, and this was a very good thing, because had the characters not been well-acted, any scenes with attempted tension likely would have fallen flat.
As I think more about Devil, I become more infuriated by it. Not because I believe that it was bad, or not worth a watch, but because how silly it ended up being resonates more and more. I think about how it ended, most of the pointless scenes, and how many plot points there were that didn't make complete sense. And after I've thought about that, I think that the movie was ultimately worse than I thought it was while watching it.
[Img_Inline width="275" height="159" Caption="That's gotta hurt her palm though..." Align="left"]http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/16/09/70/40/devil210.jpg[/Img_Inline]
Leaving a really poor taste in my mouth after watching it gives me a poor final opinion on Devil. I didn't dislike it while watching it, and in fact, I was having a decent enough time. Does that make it a film that you can turn your brain off and watch it just to have fun? Well, you could, but to me, that makes it sound like a bad movie. If you have to turn your brain off to enjoy a film, then it's not a good film to begin with. If you have to ignore all of its problems just to somewhat enjoy it, then you're not dealing with a very good film to begin with.
Devil isn't a film that is all that great, but you can have a decent enough time while watching it. The actors were actually the best part, and because of their good performances, there are some thrilling scenes. I'll maintain that the premise is silly, and there are a large number of plot points that don't add up to anything, but it's a movie that can be enjoyable. But don't think too hard, because you'll end up with a negative lasting impression.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
If you are a fan of my reviews, and want to boost my ego receive notifications when new reviews are posted, or find an old review, please join/visit this <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/2-50-Reviews>user group.
