You won't be disappointed!

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

This movie starts with a flashforward of Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) being horribly shot and brought to the hospital. In 1959, Serpico joins the NYPD as a patrolman. He witnesses corruption, brutality, and general criminality in the police force. As he rises in the force, he is constantly being placed in compromising positions. He refuses to take the dirty money. He dresses in his street clothes and beard. He tries to work within the system and even the mayor's office to no avail. He is hated by his fellow cops. With only a couple of supporters, he goes to the Times which leads to the Knapp Commission.This is a wonderful performance by Al Pacino. He is powerful, righteous, powerless, and paranoid. Sidney Lumet brings the grimy side of New York. The story doesn't always flow since it's episodic following a real bio. However, there is a sense of rising paranoia and a sense of rising tension. It's a compelling telling of a story in a fascinating time.

I understand they wanted to make a film about the well known whistle blower. But is this a story that really needed to be told? Is this Serpico guy an interesting character? Is his story interesting in cinematic terms? Apparently it's not. Nothing about this film is interesting, and the only reason I didn't fall asleep while watching it is the fact that whenever Pacino is on screen he manages to infuse the scene with energy. Any other actor would have made this film virtually unwatchable.OK, so it was big story. Cops took bribe on a regular basis. But as I said, a big news story does not necessarily make a good cinematic story. There is nothing remarkable about Serpico's private or professional life. Nor was there any real suspense or mystery regarding his attempts to combat corruption. Scene after scene we see a bunch of events take place, but it's hard to tell why we are watching them, apart from the fact that they supposedly took place in real life. Real life does not necessarily make a good story, tough. The conflict between Serpico and the establishment does not come across as a story that can keep the audience interested. Same thing with Serpico's private life. We never learn enough about Serpico or his love interests (despite the film's considerable length) in order to care. As an audience I want to be immersed in the story, and not be reduced to a bystander that is asked to witness a sequence of events.A total waste of time.

"What's this for? For bein' an honest cop? Hmm? Or for being stupid enough to get shot in the face? You tell them that they can shove it."If you were alive during the 70's then there is no question in my mind that your favorite actor was Al Pacino. He ruled during that decade. His performance in Serpico playing the title character, an honest cop who refused to participate in the corruptive system that surrounded the NY police department, is considered by many to be his best work, which is saying a lot when you take into account his other films during that four year span: both Godfather films, Dog Day Afternoon, and Scarecrow. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performances during four straight years and surprisingly came out empty handed. It wouldn't be until his eight nomination in 1993 for his lead performance in Scent of a Woman that he would finally receive his dues (a category in which he was also nominated for Glengarry Glen Ross). It's astonishing to look back at his career and see how many great performances he delivered over time, but especially during the early 70's. Serpico is a film that must be seen primarily for his energetic performance, which foretold what an illustrious career he would have ahead of him. It didn't hurt that the great Sidney Lumet was directing this true story based on the biographical book written by Peter Maas. His choices for location all over the different NY boroughs gave the film a sense of authenticity for this genre film. Lumet was interested in focusing on this character and portraying the emotional effect that the corruptive system had on him in the most realistic way possible and he succeeded. It's been more than 40 years since Serpico has been released and its themes remain relevant to this day.The film opens with a bloodied officer being rushed to a hospital in the back of a police car. We find out that he's an undercover cop named Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) and he has been shot in the face. When one of the police inspector's receives the news his immediate reaction is that a fellow officer must have shot him. The next scene is a close-up shot of Serpico's eyes that are still moving and then the film takes us to the 60's where we see a younger version of him graduating as a police officer from the Academy. From the very beginning we can tell that Serpico is self motivated and honest. He aspires to become a detective, but his idealistic world comes crumbling down when he witnesses his fellow officers accepting bribes from gamblers and drug dealers. They offer him money, but he doesn't accept, which in turns makes him new enemies. His next move is to enlist the help of a trusted officer named Bob Blair (Tony Roberts) who sets him up with higher ranked officers to whom he can report his partners' corruptive behavior, but all they end up doing is transferring him to new divisions. Their promises of cleaning up the department go nowhere and Frank's increasing frustration begins to take a toll on his relationship with his fiancée Laurie (Barbara Eda-Young) as several years go by with the same results. With very few friends and a lot of enemies, Frank knows that his days as a police officer are numbered, but he remains hopeful that someday the truth will be revealed. Lumet expertly manages to portray the passage of time in a rather convincing manner here without resorting to spoon feeding the audience. The editing is handled in superb fashion and Al Pacino's physical transformation is a great indicator of how distrusting of the system he's becoming. He is the driving force of the movie and the main reason why the film succeeds. He gets to shine in the subtle and quiet moments such as when he's simply enjoying his back yard listening to opera and starting a conversation with his next door neighbor, or during the powerful emotional scenes where he takes all his anger and frustration out on his fiancée or a criminal he just busted in the streets. Serpico shaped the genre and the way some action films were being handled by delivering a more authentic and true to life film that added resonance to the subject that was being handled. The material was handled seriously by the screenwriters who delivered an honest adaptation and weren't there simply to entertain audiences, but to deliver a message. That is what has made this such a memorable and thought provoking film to this date. Al Pacino is the only actor who really gets to stand out here because the entire focus is on him and as time passes the rest of the characters come in and out of his life, but he is reason enough to check the film out. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

Serpico combined the talents of up-and-comer Al Pacino and director Sidney Lumet. Pacino had just broken into the Hollywood scene with his performance in The Godfather and Lumet had already directed successes like The Pawnbroker after a successful string of television gigs. Here, they sought to dramatically portray the life and times of Serpico, an honest cop in a sea of corrupt ones.And that already sums up the entire film quite nicely. We're introduced to Serpico, just a regular nice guy. He becomes a cop, eager to do good, and slowly but surely becomes aware of how many cops don't do their jobs. From nickel and dime stuff (shakedowns and payoffs) to large scale corruption (in the narcotics division). Yet, Serpico doesn't buckle under the pressure, but maintains his integrity, an act with which he puts his own life at increasing risk.The acting is one of the main reasons to watch Serpico. Pacino's peak was undoubtedly in the 70s. He received back-to-back Oscar nominations for The Godfather, Serpico, The Godfather Part II and Dog Day Afternoon and it's not hard to see why. Pacino has always been a highly dramatic actor and his skills are on full display in Serpico. Pacino captures Serpico's youthful enthusiasm (in the relationship with Laurie and when he's just starting out as a cop) and his mounting frustration (when Serpico's integrity is tested more and more).Speaking of mounting frustration, that's one of the best parts of the screenplay: the gradual shift in tone. The film starts with Serpico driven to a hospital after suffering a gunshot wound. We don't know how he's been shot, but the rest of the film flashes back to when he became a cop to the fateful incident. As such, the film starts out relatively lighthearted with his promotion to police officer and his idealism. And then the film shows glimpses of corruption on a small scale. Towards the end, Serpico's dealing with highly organized corrupt narcotics officers. Through it all, it becomes harder and harder for Serpico to defy his colleagues without fearing for his life. The film expertly captures this downward spiral. Sadly, it's also the film's structure and overall storyline that might be its greatest weakness. While the shift in tone is wonderfully realized, not a lot changes. You're basically watching countless variations on Serpico defying police corruption and it occasionally drags the experience down, though it all depends on the viewer. One might appreciate the slice-of-life style, while another might get bored. Overall though, Pacino's acting, the great directing and screenplay all coalesce to provide a thrilling experience.