Review

Pure pulp fiction here, with Pacino in rabid, scene-chewing mode as Lucifer himself. In what amounts to John Grisham's The Firm on a theological scale, a young hotshot lawyer (Reeves) is seduced by the money and allure of a high-powered New York law firm and discovers that the price for selling out is his soul.

This crackerjack thriller is given a boost not only from Pacino's deliciously over-the-top histrionics, but from Hackford's clever direction, a slick production design, some eye-popping special effects, and an effectively creepy musical score. It also helps that just beneath the high-gloss surface, nobody - not the actors or the filmmakers - is taking this pretty preposterous fluff too seriously.