Dog Day Afternoon

Pacino turns in a great performance in a heist movie with a banal plot. Or am I, as a viewer, supposed to be thrilled by the twist when a young man in a bathrobe appears on the scene as his wife, for whose sex change Pacino is doing all of this? His real wife and especially his mother just complete the bizarre circle of characters that make this an unintentional comedy. The depiction of Brooklyn and the situation in the US at the time is praiseworthy, but as a human drama, this classic didn't impress me. (02/14/2021)

I promise will never complain about my bad luck again... Sidney Lumet made a perfect crime drama about one not exactly ordinary bank robbery, that in certain moments is more like a comedy. The role of Sonny Wortzik is one of Al Pacino’s greatest creations ever. He gives a perfect performance of an absolute wreck desperately trying to get the situation under control. John Cazale as Sal is pleasantly inconspicuous and for the whole time it’s apparent that he is consumed by fear. And it seems that the guy at the end in the minibus truly was Lance Henriksen. The screenplay is flawless and goes to show that even such a classic plot like a bank robbery can be turned into something so “different". (10/28/2006)

Sometimes everything goes wrong even before anything starts. How many times has a bank robbery been portrayed in a movie? No one can count that. And is it possible, after all those attempts, to see it in a way that you won't even breathe from the suspense? Definitely - Sidney Lumet managed to turn the so charismatic and demonic Pacino into an innocently looking boy, whose nerves can snap at any moment, and turned a bank robbery into a two-hour realistic spectacle, where the first gunshot almost scared me halfway through the movie. Great spectacle, the specific scenes of which Schumacher had probably watched countless times while shooting "Phone Booth". (02/05/2007)

Al Pacino delivers yet another one of his incredible performances, under the direction of Sidney Lumet, who presents a film that could initially be seen as a comedy, but which has such a gradual escalation that you realize this can't end well, even though you might find yourself rooting for the anti-hero. Just like the others. (10/09/2015)

An instruction video about how never under any circumstances to proceed during a bank robbery. Al Pacino excels in the main role, demonstrating all typical beginner’s mistakes. Mainly by completely outshining all the others with his performance. Which, in view of how interesting most characters are, is rather a shame; twice as much with respect to Cazale’s role. (06/07/2009)