Review of Serpico (1973) by Carlos R — 05 Nov 2009

Al Pacino seduces the audience with the prospect that he will explode at any moment. His fuse always seems to have a flame inching towards detonation. After a while, this formula becomes tiresome. Pacino offers two styles of acting in Serpico: quiet and loud.

Making matters worse, The stiff script only provides scene that make seemingly pertinent plot points: "Here is the scene that shows Serpico as sensitive because he's playing with a mouse", "Here is the seventh scene that shows he's honest because he refuses to take bribes".

Any real sense of character is lost amid the fervent, righteous posturings. Both Pacino and Lumet do a much better job with Dog Day Afternoon.