Review: ‘…And Justice for All’ is a Brilliant Courtroom Drama

Al Pacino’s run of films in the 1970s is, somehow, even more remarkable than many realise. Introducing himself in his first starring role in 1971 with the phenomenal drug melodrama The Panic In Needle Park, Pacino then went on to star in both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II as well as the impeccable Dog Day Afternoon, Sidney Lumet’s excellent Serpico and more before finally concluding the decade in 1979 with today’s film, Norman Jewison’s …And Justice For All. Of course, Pacino would continue to pick his roles with care up until, really, the early 2000s when he went from cropping up in Heat, Scarface, The Devil’s Advocate, Scent of a Woman (not a film I enjoy so much, but still a film boasting an extremely impressive Pacino performance) and The Insider to then showing up in Gigli, The Recruit, Two for the Money and Misconduct — one side of these is not like the others. There’s still the odd highlight — Pacino is great in Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia (though it may be the director’s least interesting film) and is part of the incredible ensemble cast of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (perhaps that director’s finest hour! How’s that for contrast?), and I would even defend his performance in Adam Sandler’s Jack…