Beat the Devil

To BMW Film's credit, it seems to me that much work is put into making each film as independant as possible. Sure there are parallels, mostly with subject matter, but stylistically each one stands apart from the others.

Beat the Devil is, in my opinion, the weirdest of the films. The subtitles, the car chase, everything is heavily stylized. Accusing this film of being unrealistic is like saying the ninja turtles aren't human. Duh, they're not supposed to be. That's a poor analogy but you get the idea.

The whole thing is also thick and complicated. The dialogue is often unintelligible and I'm still not quite sure why The Driver would bet what he did...but does it really matter? I mean, Gary Oldman plays the Devil and James Brown is in it.

I loved this short. My family has always been BMW enthusiasts, and I've always been a Clive Owen enthusiast, so it is to be expected that I would enjoy the film. Extra treats for me were Gary Oldman who has always been a favorite of mine ever since his moving portrayal of Beethoven. He can do anything. He makes the perfect "Prince of Darkness". James Brown is an unexpected surprise and a great bit of flavor against a dark backdrop. Las Vegas aka Sin City is the perfect battle ground. I even enjoyed Marilyn Manson's cameo. He only added to the clever and wonderfully weird cast. The whole thing is great and I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys drama, hot British guys, and fast cars.

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

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.

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!