Absolutely Outstanding!!

Rating: Null/10 (1 September 2004)

Overall this was an incredible movie.Yeah, it was a bit long, but I think it was worth it. Yeah, there are a few hokey scenes, but the good ones out-do them by a long stretch. Personally, my favorite is the coffee house scene. Not only do you get a true understanding of both Pacino and Dinero, but what really sets it up is the background. As they're both talking, listen and watch the background. You'll notice, at the start, that you hear regular conversations and and the clatter of dinner/silver ware. As the two talk on, you'll notice that the conversations slowly taper off, but the clatter remains the same. There's a point where, over Dinero's shoulder, you can clearly see an Asian woman whispering, and I'm sure that's what Mann had all the other patrons doing. As soon as Dinero says "Or maybe we'll never see each other again",everything returns to normal. Between their conversation and the background setup, it makes for the best scene of the movie. The bank heist/shootout would be my number two, although I think Kilmer could have taken his facial expression a bit further. I live close to downtown L.A., and have been on the same streets where they filmed that scene,but haven't been able to find the exact building they used for the bank. The armored car score at the beginning would be number three. The precision and preciseness was great. The "drive-in on Centinela" would be number four, although Kilmer should of had his H&K dialed in on the driver from the get go. The ending scene where Pacino shoots Dinero could of been setup a little better, but it worked out overall. If it isn't that obvious, I've damn near wore out my VHS copy watching it so many times. I give it five stars of five. That's my side of it.