To its credit, the movie had great actors, a complex and intelligent plot, and something of a message which is not a bad thing in these days of mindless chase and fight scenes as the norm for cop movies. But one actor really didn't do it for me, the lead Andy Garcia, as Sean Casey. Really, he was supposed to be a young Irish cop turned DA? Come on, in one scene he had something of a NYC Puerto Rican accent. They couldn't find a good Irish American actor for the role? I realize Lumet and Pacino were best buds, and at that time they tried to groom Garcia as another Pacino. But even in his prime, no one ever casted Pacino as Irish. Garcia is not that good, period. He just didn't do it for me.
It is a movie that made the critics happy because it is an intelligent and complex movie, but I just can't say it well enough, maybe because I am not a good critic, but it lacked the oomph to make it a great movie.
It is a movie that made the critics happy because it is an intelligent and complex movie, but I just can't say it well enough, maybe because I am not a good critic, but it lacked the oomph to make it a great movie.