Overview

• Inverse and Polygon mark the anniversary with reassessments that emphasize the movie’s enduring relevance rather than nostalgia.
• Critics highlight Sidney Lumet’s portrait of police escalation and a spectacle-seeking crowd shaped by TV coverage and performative moments.
• Adapted from Life’s “The Boys in the Bank,” the film draws on a 1972 Brooklyn hostage robbery to ground its working‑class perspective.
• Al Pacino’s performance as Sonny is praised as empathetic and fully embodied within Lumet’s blend of comedy and slow-burn thriller.
• Writers underscore the film’s unusually progressive treatment of queer and trans characters for its era, and note it is available to stream.