A prime Jack Nicholson takes centre stage with a comedic performance for the ages in The Witches of Eastwick, a highly entertaining battle of the sexes romp that while not without its faults contains much wicked wit within its blockbuster veneer.

 “Oh Jack…he’s just the Devil!” is how Batman co-star Kim Basinger described the spectacled, grinning Hollywood legend some 20 odd years ago. Considering the stories surrounding one of cinema’s great lotharios whose personal life is as reputable as his storied career, it is perhaps as precise a prediction as one could make. Yet there is that other side to the one they call “Jaaaack….” The intelligent, witty, sensitive mind, who can wax poetic about his art of acting (and just about any other subject), drawing the likes of Brando and Beatty and a never-ending number of leading ladies towards his flame, creating legion with legends.

No doubt that is why he was born to play the role of Daryl Van Horn, aka The Devil, the eye of the supernatural tornado in The Witches of Eastwick. Based on the controversial best-selling novel by John Updike, the film centres on a trio of recently divorced (or widowed) best friends – Alexandra( Cher), Jane (Susan Sarandon), and Sukie (Michelle Pfieffer) – who unbeknownst to them conjure a mysterious presence to their sleepy New England town of Eastwick.

Enter Daryl Van Horne (Nicholson), a man of taste, charm, wealth, intelligence, and a wickedly insatiable appetite, who seduces the Eastwick trio with aspirations of beginning a rather unconventional family, to the shock of the small conservative town. That is until Alex, Jane and Suki get wise and distance themselves from the destructive Van Horn, leading to a battle of the sexes between a master of the universe and a coven of no BS taking independent women who together find their true power.

Directing is George Miller in his first Hollywood debut after wowing the world with the Australian made Mad Max trilogy. With Michael Cristofer’s adaptation of Updike’s novel as his guide, and an extremely talented cast giving their all, Miller is able to bring his master touch to strong visual play whether it be capturing the picturesque Massachusetts locales or the ILM created VFX work.

Sometimes it can be a little too much with the special effects scenarios. Indeed, the best parts are the dialogue interplays between the four leads, who match witticisms on sexual politics with an easy chemistry. Of the three witches in the title, Susan Sarandon is the standout, brilliantly & saucily portraying her character’s transformation from straight laced introvert to curly haired sex kitten. Great too is Veronica Cartwright as the town purist who is driven mad by the strong premonition that something wicked has indeed come to Eastwick.

And that comes to “Jaaaaack…” By this point in Nicholson’s storied career, a strong physical comedy role like that of Daryl Van Horn was not on his radar. Yet like a caged tiger waiting to let loose, Nicholson devours the material and makes it his own. Huffing, growling, smiling, prowling, Nicholson personifies seduction through his larger than life charm, razor sharp wit, and an always surprising sensitivity (or is that manipulation?)

There have been many portrayals of the Prince of Darkness in cinema, yet Nicholson’s “horny little Devil” is a standout.