Classic case of the Academy giving a "make-good" Oscar to someone who was overdue (Pacino) -- but giving it for one of his WORST perfs. Eastwood (whom I love) had never been nom'd for acting before; he deserved the Directing nod, but an acting nom was overdoing it, I thought. Downey's work (in a mediocre movie) is underrated, IMHO. Denzel was deserving too. And Rea was the beneficiary of the Miramax steamroller effect.
That pretty much sums it up, except to point out that Hollywood was deeply divided over Stone's
JFK the same year, and that for whatever reason Kilmer has a truly nasty rep as a difficult-to-work-with prima donna, even though he stays out of tabloid trouble, and Downey Jr. is one of the most well-liked guys in Hollywood even though he was just reaching his peak of total screw-up behavior at this time.