MartinHafer
This is a very surreal film. James Brown (yes, THAT James Brown) goes to see the Devil (Gary Oldman) as he's getting older and wants to make another deal with him--a deal to restore his youth. Brown has brought a driver along with him (Clive Owen) and proposes an auto race to ..either give him the youth or to give him Owen's soul this time.It's obvious that a lot of money was put into this short, as the star power of the three principle actors is impressive. Plus the stunts and fancy camera tricks didn't come cheaply. In 2000 and 2001, BMW commissioned a series of 8 films directed by world-famous directors like Ang Lee, John Woo and, in this one, Tony Scott helms this short. I must admit that I have only seen one other film in this series, so comparing it to the rest isn't yet possible. However, compared to the fabulous short made by John Frankenheimer, "Beat the Devil" came up a bit short. One of the biggest reasons for me is that it just looked like too many disparate story elements were shoved into this film--almost making it an assault on the senses. While Frankenheimer's film WAS intense and packed a lot into a short, this one went many steps beyond that. In addition, the whole idea of a battle against the Devil is a bit clichéd--as it's been done many, many times in the past. Still, for a major adrenalin junkie, perhaps you'll love this film. It certainly was interesting--even if I wasn't bowled over by it.
drhansley
I've never seen so much action poured into 9 minutes of film. I had to watch it again to see what I missed the first time. It has Gary Oldman doin' his thing. (NOBODY can do 'outrageous' like Gary Oldman can) His devil is wild! James (I Feel Good) Brown who supposedly actually DID sell his soul to the devil.(that's between them, I'm not getting into that) Clive Owen looking all serious and observing the goings on around him. (I think Gary made him a bit nervous) Mr. Brown has sought out the Devil to re-negotiate his contract. The Devil enjoys a wager, but likes the concept of winner takes all. The wager? Drag the Strip at dawn. The Devil: Cool! The race is on. So what we have is Gary Oldman, James Brown, Clive Owen, a 1976 Trans Am and a BMW Roadster drag racing down the Sunset Strip, and what a ride.
Boba_Fett1138
This isn't just the best of "The Hire" series of shorts, it also is one of the best and certainly most fun movies that I have seen in a while!I think I had a smile on my face throughout the entire movie. It was incredible fun and had some great dialog and hilarious moments. Especially the ending with Marilyn Manson was extremely funny.I really love Tony Scott now, after seeing this short. I already liked his recent visual style and the way of editing in his movie but this really has got to be his best visual work, I love it! It's very cool and comparable to the style in his movies "Spy Game" and "Man on Fire". I'm actually excited in seeing his next movie "Domino" now, before seeing this movie I didn't had really that much interest in seeing it.Man, Gary Oldman plays one crazy ugly devil! I'm a big fan of Oldman and I absolutely loved him in this. Next to "True Romance" (also directed by Tony Scott by the way), this is my favorite role of his. Other parts are played by James Brown who extremely funny plays himself and the always very cool Danny Trejo.Extremely fun and likable to watch!10/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
rbverhoef
Another episode in The Hire-series. It looks different from what we have seen so far but again it is pretty good. James Brown as himself sells his soul to the devil, a great performance by Gary Oldman. The Driver has to race the devil and his driver, played by Danny Trejo. If he wins James Brown gets another 50 years to live. Clive Owen stars as the driver again and there is a nice ending with Marilyn Manson.
AD
