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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)
Salesrank: 28753
Released: February 24, 1998 |
| Our Price: $2.50 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
When new york police officer tom omeara welcomes irish emirgre frankie mcguire into his home he is unaware that mcguire is actually an ira assassin with a hidden agenda. Now omeara and his family are placed in the middle of a deadly conspiracy to smuggle arms back to northern ireland. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/21/2004 Starring: Harrison Ford Brad Pitt Run time: 111 minutes Rating: R Director: Alan J Pakula
Description of The Devil's Own:
Any movie starring Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford has got to be worth seeing, right? That's as close to a guarantee as this well-meaning thriller ever gets, however, and the talents of Pitt and Ford are absolutely vital in making any sense out of this dramatically muddled scenario. Ostensibly the movie's about an IRA terrorist (Pitt) who escapes from British troops in Belfast and travels to New York City, where he stays in the home of a seasoned cop (Ford) who has no idea of the terrorist's true identity. (Why a veteran cop would host a complete stranger in his home is one of those shaky details you're better off not thinking about.) But while Pitt's passionate character waits to make an arms deal for his IRA compatriots back in Ireland, The Devil's Own conveniently avoids any detailed understanding of the Northern Ireland conflict, focusing instead on the cop's moral dilemma when he discovers that his young guest is a terrorist. The film is superbly acted, and overall it's quite worthwhile, but don't look to it for an abundance of plot logic or an in-depth understanding of Protestant-Catholic tensions in Northern Ireland. (For that, take a look at In the Name of the Father or the underrated historical biopic Michael Collins.) --Jeff Shannon.
The Devil's Own Reviews:
The devil at home! 
2008-10-06 - This is a worthy to watch film, because we are talking about Alan Pakula, one of the most talented and intelligent American directors of his generation who bet for a script of beating actuality.
A young Irish terrorist goes to New York in order to broke an arms deal and get room just at home of a very honest cop (who has not the minor idea whom is lodging).
The plot resents itself, specially in what concerns the predictable final. But the initial shooting sequence is now a cult reference.
Brad Pitt is credible as the ruthless terrorist and Ford is at top level with this hard role, on one hand he has to cover a grievous mistake of his partner and the other he will have to deal with the disillusion of having lodged an outlaw of such importance, widely wanted in Europe.
Above the average, but the script had by itself major stamina to expose.
The Devil's Own 
2008-10-03 - I like to watch any H. Fords movies, I cant think of any movies he has been in that it was seen over and over agin.
L Sturdavant
Falls flat... 
2008-09-14 - This movie tried very hard to avoid the political context and background of the IRA/UK conflict...too hard! What you got instead were two movies in one sloppily plasted together.
At first you have the IRA Guerrilla Frankie McGuire (Pitt) fighting off hoards of British soldiers in Belfast. Literally ten minutes later you are zoomed to New York City where you will not hear another word about the IRA for quite some time. Instead you are immersed in a story about the life of NYPD cop Tom O'Mera (Ford). Now you get the story of the never ending drama in Tom's life, family, work, etc. You began to forget the IRA has anything to do with the film.
The movie then attempts to contemplate the concepts of political violence and murder through a series of well acted but over dramatic dialogues between Pitt and Ford.
I got the movie with the intent of seeing a dramatized political thriller but instead got a softened look at the life of an NYPD officer (which I didn't care about in the least bit) and an IRA gunmen to a far lesser extent. Good acting with bad writing equals a mess. You can't tackle a situation as complex as the IRA conflict and simplify it to the extent the film did to avoid getting political. Very disappointed.
Minus five stars 
2008-03-02 - This movie is a genuine setback for the intellectual future of mankind. Somebody in the production team should be slapped, I'm not kidding. I read somewhere that Ford and Pitt tried to distance themselves from this stinker, and I'm not surprised. Shame on them for taking the big Bucks in the first place. A case of two pampered actors adding fuel to a (then) fire that really needed no fuel adding to it, from a safe distance, whilst doing themselves a lot of good in the process. To just say it's confused, etc, is really letting it off the hook. It's awful, but if you're into 'pro Irish/anti British' you'll probably put this right next to the copies of Braveheart and The Patriot you already have on your shelf. If you haven't seen it yet, just borrow it, and don't say 'thankyou' to the lender.
Take care,
Baby Cromwell
I wanted a different ending
2007-01-26 - When Hollywood finally chooses to make a movie about the struggles, it of course chooses to tell us that even though those nasty Prods have no problem killing our people in cold blood, obtaining the arms to fight back is wrong and must be stopped by Captain America aka Harrison Ford. Please spare me from this awful movie. Shades of Tom Clancy and the rest of the UK suck ups in Hollywood. How would they like it if Malibu was taken over by "gasp" republicans andresidency was limited to non-actors and they had to live in San Bernadino?
