Warning-this is NOT a period piece

The Anderson Tapes is an example of what director Sidney Lumet is capable of creating: an entertaining yet somehow thoughtful film. This was the movie that actually made me appreciate Sean Connery. In the Bond films he was doomed to be typecast. Sidney Lumet bailed him out and Connery owes him big time. Great setup and cameos: including an underrated scene with the great Garret Morris as a limber police officer, who would go on to become one of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players on Saturday Night Live just a few years later (along with Belushi, Chase, Radner, etc.). Christopher Walken looks like a baby in this one and Martin Balsam is pretty funny. Nice flash forward scenes make it seem like it can never be a dated film. Chilling last scene makes the film and a point about our technological age.

Interesting Setup and Promise: Does Not Deliver

"The Anderson Tapes" could have been a much better movie. From reading the back of the box in the rental store and the promise of the all-star cast, I really thought I would enjoy this film more than I did. The interesting story about a crime that is allowed to escalate despite the government's complete knowledge (due to the entanglements of government agencies and the monitoring) could have made for a great film. But the pace of the film and the poor script really drag the whole project down. In fact, I see that they are planning on remaking the film in 2005. I will be interested to see what they decide to do to the film.

The pace of Sidney Lumet's film is quite slow and the acting is sub-par. Despite the fact that the film introduces a young Christopher Walken, he hardly speaks at all (which, in my opinion, is the whole reason you want Walken on the screen in the first place). The ending is quite spectacular and unique, which makes up for some of the film that comes before it. Also, I really enjoyed the way the director shot the film out of sequence, splicing the actual events with later footage of police interviews. We keep seeing body bags moving in the background, but we have no idea who is in them. I really enjoyed this technique and it helped to hold my interest.

I imagine that if the remake gets produced that everyone will flock to see the original. But in this case, and I say this very rarely, I hope and believe that the new version will be better. Hopefully, it will follow the monitoring/tapes/government angle of the story and not forget about the intrigue it can add to the plot.

Excellent movie.

Great flick. Fast paced armed robbery thriller driven by an ultra funky Quincy Jones soundtrack. Excellent direction, and an all star cast make this movie a great choice. I believe this was even Christopher Walken's first film. Sidney Lumet's style is unmatched as the fast paced editing follows the excellent soundtrack. Onoe of the best films ever made in my opinion.