Widely regarded as one of the finest actors of all time, Al Pacino has had an incredibly long and incredibly diverse career. From his first film all the way back in 1969 (Me, Natalie), right up to his most recent picture (The Irishman) in 2019, he has appeared in everything from hard-hitting crime drama, to bumbling wrecks hard to consider comedy.
Using IMDb as our tool, we’ve collected the five films which have Pacino in a significant role that are rated the lowest, and the five films which have Pacino in a significant role that are rated the highest.
Best: Scent Of A Woman (8.0)
Let us consider this for a moment. Martin Brest, the director of Scent Of A Woman, a film ed for being an incredibly moving work of art, also directed Gigli, one of the most horrendous films of all time. How is that even possible?
Anyway, Pacino stars as Frank Slade, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor as a result. While the film itself is way too long, every scene with Pacino seems like it doesn’t last long enough.
Worst: Misconduct (5.3)
The first of Pachino's five worst film is one of his most recent. When a poster has the looming figures of an aging Pacino and Anthony Hopkins, it’s very hard to imagine that particular film being anything other than exceptional. It wasn’t exceptional, though. Pacino is basically average throughout, calmly cashing in a probably substantial paycheck through minimal work and minimal effort. In fact, all the film really does is serve as a tragic reminder that many of these incredible classic actors are long since past their prime.
Best: Heat (8.2)
Teaming up with his Godfather Part II co-star Robert De Niro once more, Heat saw a middle-aged Pacino proved he still absolutely had it. Pacino played the starring role of Vincent Hanna, who is investigating a major robbery. He, much like in The Son Of No One, breaks the roles of criminal masterminds such as in Scarface and The Godfather, by living on the right side of the law, and he is able to do it just as well.
Worst: Hangman (5.2)
One of Pacino’s most recent starring roles is Hangman, from 2017. On the surface, it was an incredibly exciting premise. Pacino starred alongside Karl Urban and Brittany Snow as his character Detective Ray Archer hunted down the Hangman killer, a serial murderer who based his actions on the guessing game.
Despite this promising start, the film was universally panned. Pacino was unable to shine as he usually does, and the film ended up wasting a really interesting premise.
Best: Scarface (8.3)
When you’re quite literally the star of Scarface, and even that only just cracks the top three best films you’ve acted in, you must know you’re a good actor. It came almost ten years after the first two Godfather films, but Pacino didn’t lose an ounce of his incredible anger, aggression and violence. The final scene in which Tony Montana fearlessly mows down man after man will likely never be topped, and the dramatic end to the character is simply astonishing.
Worst: The Son Of No One (5.1)
Despite the tail end of Pacino’s career often being plagued by strange cameos in terrible comedies, he lent back into crime drama with 2011’s The Son Of No One. This time, he broke his own stereotype and stayed firmly on the side of the law... well, sort of.
His actual performance is fine, but the film as a whole was panned for its implausibility and repetitiveness, replacing its intent as a gritty crime drama with a reality as a far-fetched failure.
Best: The Godfather Part II (9.0)
Anyway, back to the good stuff. Pacino continued his journey as Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II. While his story was interspersed with the prequel story of his father, Pacino was the true star of this film. It may have been his co-star Robert De Niro who walked away with the Oscar, but still.
Its action sequences, stunning visuals, and truly incomparable acting are just some of the reasons why the film won six Oscars, including Best Picture.
Worst: Jack And Jill (3.3)
Ugh, reverting once more from a delightful discussion of some of the greatest films in cinematic history to talk about... yes, an Adam Sandler film. Somehow, Sandler is incredibly successful, but appearing in a film with him certainly isn’t a good thing for the career of a legendary actor. Jack And Jill is a stunning example of how not to do comedy, and was provided with a clean sweep at the Razzies in return. Pacino might well play a fictionalized version of himself, which should be easy, but it’s like his ability to act is being sucked out by Sandler’s vampiric anti-comedy powers in this film.
Best: The Godfather (9.2)
As you may well have expected, the film rated as the second-highest on IMDB’s list of the greatest films ever made is also Pacino’s number one. The Godfather is a stunning crime drama that follows the dramatic lives of the Corleone family over the course of ten years.
Pacino plays Michael Corleone. Despite being raised away from the violence and bloodshed that accompanies his family on their every move, Michael ends up having to unwillingly take over as patriarch of the family upon the ing of his father, Vito.
Worst: Gigli (2.5)
Writing a list that includes the first two Godfather films and having to end it with one of the worst-received comedy films of all time is truly quite shocking, but that’s just the way of the world. With just 2.5 stars (which is quite an incredible achievement in itself) this film certainly doesn’t match its cast list. Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, and Christopher Walken are just some of the names performing opposite Pacino. The pain in Pacino’s eyes as he attempts to deliver his lines as Starkman is on par to that of director Martin Brest’s eyes as he looked to his empty wallet. The film lost almost $70 million at the box office.
