Review of Dog Day Afternoon (1975) by Dan S — 15 Aug 2010

A solid entry into the heist-thriller genre, but not the masterpiece many claim it is. Although it features one of the best Al Pacino performances I can recall, the movie's tension seems to loosen around it's 2/3 mark, as Lumet oversteps his grounds in developing Pacino's character while in turn basically forgetting to color Cazale's whatsoever.

With that said, this is a mostly very, very good film, it starts out fast and the first hour its next to impossible to turn away from. This whole story is based on true events, and Lumet knows when to add the story's biggest twist at the right time.

The ending is also very taut and is executed perfectly, capped off by Pacino's emotional facial expressions. Definitely worth checking out if you like thrillers that start out fast.