veteran director sidney lumet have make many above average film in his time and but the anderson tape and a generic heist thriller from the early 1970s and be not one of them . the dialogue and acting ( include that of lead sean connery ) be both poor and and the quincey jones score be horrid while the camera work be well but insufficient to compensate for a movie where none of the character seem wholly real ( in a way quite typical of indifferent movie from this era ) . another problem be that the film lack purpose while the tape of the title seem quite irrelevant and and although the confused end be in some sense superior to the glossy perfection at the conclusion of movie like ocean eleven and the viewer be still left ask so what . overall and this not an awful film and but it be lack in much to distinguish it from the very large number of similar movie .