hackneyed dialogue

Rating: 5/10 (27 December 2003)

I watched about fifteen minutes of the beginning and was shocked at how wooden the dialogue was; typical Hollywood bad cop movie dialogue. I gave up when Martin & Al were talking about the internal affairs stuff. But I wanted to see Robin Williams (having just watched One Hour Photo) so I skipped forward an hour. It's better at that point, with a low key performance by Williams compensating for Pacino's usual hamminess. It moves pretty well in the second half, and there are some nice shots from the insomniac point of view. Not good enough to go back and watch the part I skipped, but good enough to watch to the end.
I saw the original a few years ago and know I didn't skip any of it. I think I found it intriguing and good but not great. Based on my recollection, I'd say it's preferable to the remake.