A satisfying thriller with some shaky gun-play bits, but it’s elevated by an all-time classic “just dudes being bros” middle stretch.

Fun as all hell: masterful stunts, super amiable characters, a general mood of infectious joy, a good balance of serious and goofy. The opening titles alone are the genesis of Tarantino’s whole style. Sheer screen pleasure.

It's as good an action/sci-fi movie as has ever been made, and on top of it, it's a subversive, complex, yet highly entertaining examination of the cost of social order. It has held up beautifully over the past 15 years, and in retrospect, it's one of the best movies of the 1990s.

Deeply sad, very funny, and real to the bone. 

Rewatching Dog Day Afternoon in 2020, the political and cultural details give you whiplash. This is 50 years ago, but look at the movie’s concerns: the two-Americas problem, instant fame, transgender people, police overkill. All of these are handled by Lumet with his usual gentle, humanist touch, so the portrayal has aged without much issue.