"88 Minutes"--a movie review by greatmartin on Blogster

I first saw Al Pacino in an off-Broadway play, "The Indian Wants the Bronx" and then in his Tony award winning turn in "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie". From his first movie role in "The Panic In Needle Park" I knew this was not a quiet, introspective actor but a bombastic one who got in your face.

Roles in "Dog Day Afternoon", "Serpico", "Scarface", "And Justice For all" and his Oscar winning role in "The Scent of a Woman" proved just that though in the first half of "The Godfather" series he was more on the quiet side. As he has grown older he has become 'hammier' from playing the devil to doing a villain in a Batman picture. He started really chewing the scenery in his last few pictures almost making Rod Steiger's later movies look like a quiet man.

None of this is meant as criticism as I know when I am going to see him in a movie I am going to see an actor and a STAR!!

There is a lot wrong with his latest movie, "88 Minutes",but the outstanding mistake is mostly his hair!!! Al is a short man and in this movie it is almost as if his hair is trying to make up the differences in the taller heights of all the actresses in the film. It is teased higher than the 'dos' in Hairspray and as wild as a movie do has ever been! LOL

Though the title is 88 minutes the film runs 107 minutes. It is a confusing murder mystery with plenty of gore. It is not the worst of pictures and certainly not one of Pacino's best but all actors have films that they wouldn't put on their resumes.

The most repugnant aspect is watching a 67 year old man having affairs with 20-30 year old woman--sort of reminds me of Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn in "Paris When It Sizzles"--it's been awhile since Pacino and Ellen Barkin had those hot scenes in Sea Of Love and I think it is time he followed the lead of DeNiro and Hoffman and was paired with women closer to his age.

The only reason to see 88 minutes is if you are a Pacino fan and want to see his hair co-star otherwise ti is just a run of the mill confusing mystery thriller.