"Beat the Devil" is another of the BMW promo short movies starring Clive Owen from over 10 years ago. Unfortunately, it is not even close to the best of the series. A main reason for that is that there is simply too much focus here on the late James Brown. I thought his shtick got repetitive very quickly in here. It sort of destroyed the whole thing, which runs for 10 minutes by the way. Admittedly, the car race scene was not that appealing either. Such a shame. Gary Oldman as the Devil is great fun and he is the perfect choice for his role. He brings that perfect mix of intensity and insanity for the character. Owen lays fairly low here, so there is not too much to say about him this time. Danny Trejo plays a nothing character in one scene and Marylin Manson appears at the end, but is not as funny as they wanted his scene to be either. David Fincher worked on the script and the director is the late Tony Scott, brother of Ridley and I felt his direction was slightly too much all over the place for my taste. Apart from Oldman, this one really isn't worth a watch. Not recommended.
Review of Beat the Devil
