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- Al Pacino is one of the most iconic actors of the last 100 years.
- He’s been in some of the greatest films in history.
- But not every film can be “The Godfather or “Serpico.”
18%
After sharing the screen in two certified classics (“The Godfather Part II” and “Heat”), these two titans of cinema came together once more for the truly mediocre thriller “Righteous Kill.” In it, they play detectives on the hunt for a mysterious serial killer, but nothing is as it seems.
“The movie goes nowhere and takes 100 minutes to do so. It should have cut its losses, gone for comedy and called itself ‘Grumpy Old Cops,”” wrote the 16%
This 2011 film is primarily about a rookie cop, Jonathan (Tatum), who killed two people as a teenager in self-defense. He was protected by a detective, Charles Stanford (Pacino), but now is facing the threat of exposure years later.
“‘The Son of No One’ self-destructs in a ludicrous, ineptly directed anticlimactic rooftop showdown in which bodies pile up, and nothing makes a shred of sense,” wrote 7%
“Misconduct” is another legal drama, this time about a corrupt pharmaceutical company and a lawyer, played by Pacino, who is in cahoots with the CEO, played by Anthony Hopkins.
Wendy Ide of 5%
Pacino plays Jack Gramm, a forensic psychiatrist who was instrumental in putting the serial killer “The Seattle Slayer” behind bars. Years later, when the killer is set to be executed, Gramm begins receiving threatening messages that say he has just 88 minutes to live.
“Given that ’88 Minutes’ actually runs 108 minutes, it’s tempting to make the joke that the movie is 20 minutes too long. In actuality, it’s 108 minutes too long,” wrote Alonso Duralde for 3%
“Jack and Jill” stars Adam Sandler in a dual role as a set of identical twins. Jack, an advertising exec, is instructed to get Pacino to appear in a Dunkin’ commercial, but after meeting Jill, the Oscar winner becomes infatuated with her.
“It’s pretty sad if you’re a comic and Al Pacino is the funniest thing in your movie,” wrote Lou Lumenick for 92%
In the 2002 drama “Insomnia,” Pacino, once again, plays a detective. This time, he’s sent to Alaska to investigate a murdered teenager, but almost immediately gets himself into a mess when he accidentally shoots his partner … and discovers someone saw him do it.
“With a run-of-the-mill bad-guy actor playing chief suspect Walter Finch, the movie might have tipped too far Pacino’s way. But Robin Williams is a shockingly effective counterweight,” wrote David Edelstein for 95%
Director Martin Scorsese used de-aging technology to cast Pacino, De Niro, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, and others in “The Irishman,” a crime epic set over 50 years. Pacino plays 96%
“The Insider,” released in 1999, follows “60 Minutes” producer Lowell Bergman (Pacino) as he relentlessly tries to get CBS to air an unabridged interview with Wigand (Russell Crowe), a former tobacco executive who is ready to share the industry’s secrets.
96%
“Dog Day Afternoon” is based on an actual bank robbery that took place in 1972 at a Chase branch in Manhattan. Pacino plays Sonny, one of two criminals who end up taking the bank employees hostage after the robbery goes wrong.
“The film’s tone is extraordinarily flexible, holding within the same reality elements of the absurd, the ridiculous and the comic while sustaining a sense of tension and dread throughout,” wrote Mick LaSalle of 100%
You might be surprised to learn that, according to critics, Pacino’s best film is an adaptation of an 1891 Oscar Wilde play about the historical figure King Herod. Pacino also directed it.
“The ‘Salomé’ film proves a chilling and watchable look at lust, power, reprisal and decadence that, along with Wilde Salome, validates [Al] Pacino’s obsessive interest in Wilde’s still-resonant play,” wrote the Los Angeles Times’ Gary Goldstein.