8.4
This is one of those monumental films that suffers from its own success. Similar to “Psycho,” “Halloween,” or “JAWS,” it kicks off a revolution of a genre and reimagines the craft of cinema, but then is copied so much that it eventually becomes a watered-down version of itself. I saw so many action tropes in this film and was reminded of the late 90’s action boom and the grandness of epics such as the Dark Knight trilogy, “Titanic,” and “Pearl Harbor.”
This film separates itself because the cast is so overflowing with talent than it does the micro exceptionally well. The intimate, deeply personal scenes, such as the scene in the coffee shop between Pacino and De Niro, are just as awe-inspiring as the grand scale action scenes. The heists and shootouts are some of the best tension-filled directing I’ve seen in quite some time. Shout-out to the Amazon Val Kilmer biopic “Val,” for leading me to this gem!
