Review of Serpico (1973) by Jake A — 12 Feb 2017
Legendary director Sidney Lumet pairing up with legendary actor Al Pacino automatically establishes grand expectations for the movie Serpico. Both manage to carry their weight in this true story about one man's crusade to expose widespread corruption within the NYPD, and yet in many ways the film lacks the sort of visceral impact that their future collaboration delivers in Dog Day Afternoon.
Parts of the movie feel campy, while the portrayal of corrupt cops could have been written with an emphasis towards subtly and nuance.
Perhaps this is just being nitpicky. But at a time when these two gentlemen were making other films such as The Godfather, Network, and the aforementioned Dog Day Afternoon, all of a sudden Serpico feels a bit more second-rate.
This review of Serpico (1973) was written by Jake A on 12 Feb 2017.
Serpico has generally received very positive reviews.
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