Pacino Shines

Rating: 7/10 (12 May 2009)

Pacino gives a fully rounded performance as a small fish in a big pool, elevating this largely predictable flick. Johnny Depp is easy on the eyes but no actor, however the screen eats him up in the tradition of other non-actor screen stars from Cybil Shepherd to John Wayne. But the movie itself aside from a few twists, is essentially a tepid remake of "Serpico," another film Pacino's performance alone elevated from mediocrity. The supporting cast of wise guys in "Brasco" pales in comparison with the performances of wise guys in any number of films by Scorsese or Coppola and the cinematography, such as it is, has the look and feel of a Law and Order spin off. The violence is gruesome without being visceral and the writing is nothing special, except for the lines that Pacino makes his own. Parenthetically, Anne Heche, also does a decent job as Johnny's domestic partner (ironically enough, sharing her co-star's real-life "predelections" in the "domestic area").