This was a potentially great film that was bogged down by the fact that it tried to do too much. It tried too hard to be an epic.

Had the film focused only on DeNiro and Pacino, it could have been perfect. Lord knows, thier scene in the diner is! It shows the trademark calm of DeNiro and the trademark fervor of Pacino. Fantastic.

What bothered me about the film were little details such as the Val Kilmer storyline (which was ok, but should ahve been cut to allow more time for Bobby and Al), the random black driver storyline (the drama between him and his wife was unneccesary. His whole character was), and most importantly, Jon Voight's horrendous handlebar moutache!

I love the idea of showing two separate character arcs, going in different directions but focusing on one thing. Pacino is a great cop whos life is in shambles because of his dedication to the game. De Niro is a great thief who's life is starting to come together. The bad guy is doing well personally and the good guy is doing bad personally. Each is quite likeable, and there is a feeling that they are kindred souls who just took different paths. This makes for a great dynamic that these great actors feed off of.

Almost perfect.