Serpico 1973

Critics score:
90 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Vincent Canby, New York Times: A remarkable record of one man's rebellion against the sort of sleaziness and second-rateness that has affected so much American life, from the ingredients of its hamburgers to the ethics of its civil servants and politicians. Read more

Don Druker, Chicago Reader: A virtuoso performance by Al Pacino and some expert location work by Sidney Lumet add up to a tour de force genre piece that transcends the supercop conventions to create a moving, engrossing portrait of Frank Serpico. Read more

Jay Cocks, TIME Magazine: Wonderful potential, and wasted. Serpico has some brutal surface flash and an acetylene performance by Al Pacino in the title role, but its energy is used to dodge all the questions it should have raised and answered. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: Another problem, these days, is Pacino's characterisation; he seems at times more like a misplaced hippy than a plainclothes cop. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: Sidney Lumet's direction adeptly combines gritty action and thought-provoking comment. Read more

Benjamin Strong, Village Voice: Lumet's biopic of Frank Serpico, the virtuous cop who exposed a network of graft in the NYPD, feels depressingly relevant. Read more