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Beat the Devil (2002)

7.4
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Ratings: 7.4/10 from 4,123 users  
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Decades ago, the legendary James Brown sold his soul to the devil for fame and fortune. Now he wishes to renegotiate. Hired to take Mr. Brown to a rendezvous with the devil (Gary Oldman), ... See full summary »

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Title: Beat the Devil (2002)

Beat the Devil (2002) on IMDb 7.4/10

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Cast

Cast overview:
...
...
...
Himself (as Mr. James Brown)
...
Himself
...
Bob
Tony Wilson ...
Young James Brown
Tomirae Brown ...
Vegas Girl
Judge Bradley ...
Crossroads Doorman
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Storyline

Decades ago, the legendary James Brown sold his soul to the devil for fame and fortune. Now he wishes to renegotiate. Hired to take Mr. Brown to a rendezvous with the devil (Gary Oldman), the driver soon finds himself entangled in fiendish plans. Written by Anonymous

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis


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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

21 November 2002 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

The Hire: Beat the Devil  »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Goofs

When they begin the street race, the Trans Am shoots flames out the back as though nitrous was already activated, but in the next shot, the flames aren't shooting out the back until nitrous is activated. See more »

Quotes

James Brown: Traded the sunrise for the sunset. That's what I did.
See more »

Crazy Credits

BMW recommends that you always wear your seat belt. See more »

Connections

Follows Ambush (2001) See more »

Soundtracks

"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, Pts. 1 & 2"
Written & Performed by James Brown
Courtesy of Universal Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
See more »

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User Reviews

The most delightfully bizarre of the Hire series.
18 June 2004 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

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.


14 of 15 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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