Cops and robbers at its best

Rating: 8/10 (3 July 2000)

It's dense and long, you get involved in those people's lives, at both sides of the law. Although both main actors seemed to overdo their roles somewhat, everyone did a good job here: a good, tight and logical plot; credible people, each with their own strengths and weaknesses; a photography that's always in the exact focus for each scene.
I have one small nit to pick in this film: Robert de Niro's character, Neil McCauley, was almost a superman. He could rob a bank, an armored truck, a safe, in a perfectly staged sequence. He could pick a girl in a few minutes at a cafeteria and take her to bed within a few hours. The only way he could be caught was by betrayal. In real life, this man would not need to be a criminal. He could make much more, without the risk of spending several years at a penitentiary.
By contrast, Al Pacino's character, LAPD lieutenant Vincent Hanna, seemed sorely incompetent. He messed completely his own personal life, and only full time dedication, together with a good knowledge of criminal procedure, allowed him to prevail in the end. The other characters, too, seem to have one or more weak points. Only Neil McCauley is perfect, and that's why I don't give this film a perfect 10. No criminal is perfect in my opinion.