One of Pacino's Best and the Best Bank Heist Movie Ever.

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2015)

Some heist classics include Inside Man, Entrapment, and The Thomas Crown Affair. Dog Day Afternoon tops those.
The Godfather showed the world how Al Pacino was. Serpico showed that he the man. The Godfather Part II showed the Pacino was the best. Although Pacino has never topped Serpico or the second Godfather movie, Dog Day Afternoon certainly comes close.
Al Pacino plays Sonny and John Cazale play his buddy, Sal. They plan to rob a new bank in New York to pay for a sex-change operation for Sonny's lover. The robbery was supposed to have taken just ten minutes, but one thing leads to another and the heist becomes a media sensation. Sonny and Sal demand for them to be taken to Canada on a plane so nothing bad can happen to them.
I would call Sonny Pacino's third best character after Frank Serpico and Michael Corleone. He is funny, bizarre, determined, likable, headstrong, all-around deep. As the day progresses and stress grows, the viewer will be found rooting for Sonny and Sal, hoping they make it to Canada safely. Powerful acting and lots of suspense lead the movie to it's nerve-racking ending.