The Devil's Own (1997)

Frankly speaking, any $90M movie starring Brad Pitt and Harrison 
Ford should be more exciting than this one.  Whatever the Hell the 
title means, the plot is deceptively simple:  an Irish terrorist 
(Pitt) takes refuge in New York City and moves into the basement of 
an unsuspecting beat cop (Ford) and his family.  And then the lat-
ter finds out about the former.  To the credit of director Alan J. 
Pakula and however many writers went without mention, this movie 
doesn't take the easy way out.  The hoary cliches are kept to a 
minimum, the violence is terse and to the point, and each character 
is given a fair amount of breathing room.  So, what's the problem?  
Well, it just ain't exciting enough.  THE DEVIL'S OWN never reaches 
the emotional heights suggested by either the story *or* the star 
power.  Sure, there's some suspense.  And an intriguing moral 
conflict.  And the slight pleasure of seeing Indiana Jones as the 
father of three girls.  But when we get down to brass tacks, and 
the characters have to confront each other, there's just not enough 
punch to their punches.  (Rated "R"/111 min.)

Grade: B

Copyright 1997 by Michael J. Legeros.  
Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros

Originally posted to triangle.movies in MOVIE HELL: March 30, 1997