Were it not for Treat Williams' terrible acting this would probably be a classic. Such a good screenplay.

An engaging crime drama with a lot to like but not much to love. I can understand the comparison to The Wire. It's quite realistic in the sense that it doesn't sugarcoat the personal sacrifices and hardships involved in trying to right a seemingly incurable wrong. In terms of flaws, not much to say, really. Maybe it's just that films about police corruption don't do much for me. I don't consider it one of Lumet's best, but it's still well worth watching.

I felt it.

Williams' best role, and one of Lumet's best films. A dense, complex epic set in a world where nothing is black and white.

Wow, what a sprawling mess of a police saga. There's a lot to like here, but it often feels like Lumet needed a better editor to make it all hang together. Feels like a 4-hour film condensed to 2:45. Nevertheless, it's an intense, gritty slow-burner and definitely worth a look.

"You see that waitress over there? The one with no tits? She's been wearin' a wire for six months. She's got a transmitter stuffed right up her pussy." Intense, bleak "The Wire"-esque drama highlighted by realistic performances all the way round and anchored in an amazing script. Lumet structures it brilliantly. From the moment Ciello steps forward, he is - we slowly understand - doomed. In a city, where you keep your mouth shut, seeking out justice is like writing your own death warrant.

The Godfather of cop movies--long, slow, tense, atmospheric, and brimming with emotion. It does feel a bit like Lumet wanted to remake Serpico, and frankly that's fine: this is easily a superior film. It's a great portrait of some of the pressures a cop faces, and a harrowing critique of how the system reacts when one speaks up about corruption. Also, Jerry Orbach is badass.

At over 180 minutes and very prosaic, hard to follow, with a story that's fairly tense but doesn't build up, this may as well have been a mini-series. In any case, if you liked Serpico, here Lumet pulls off a police-corruption drama that's even bleaker, more jarring and more realistic (here even the protagonist is no angel). It's not as great as Serpico but it's still really good, and Treat Williams is no Al Pacino but he's certainly adequate.