Outstanding Oscar winner
- The Departed review by CP Customer
I thought this was an exceptional piece of film making. The cast are outstanding; DiCaprio acts everyone else out of almost every scene, although Wahlberg gives him a run for his money in a couple! Nicholson is genuinely frightening as the mob boss. They are lucky to be working with such a brilliant script, and, of course, the genius direction of Scorsese. It's violent and shocking and some parts had me staring at the screen open mouthed. I didn't find it predictable, in fact there were many twists and turns. A fantastic evening's viewing and a classic must-see.
4 out of 5 members found this review helpful.
Not a Classic
- The Departed review by CP Customer
Saying that this Scorsese picture is not that good is like saying that you live in a naf house in kensington. They don't exist.Putting this observation aside and only comparing this movie with other scorsese pictures, its pretty poor. Jack Nicholson is always very watchable, but seems to spend the whole movie doing a parody of himself. As for the others, Leonardo Decaprio is probably the best and seems to give it 100%, Mark Whalberg and Matt Damon seem out of their depth.Although the film moves at a good pace the plot seems clunky at times and a bit predictable. Compared to other filmmakers this picture is very good, Compared to Scorsese's other work, its very average.
4 out of 5 members found this review helpful.
One of Scorsese weakest films to date.
- The Departed review by CP Customer
The Departed has got to rank as one of the most undeserving Oscar winners of all time. The film is actually a remake of the 2002 Honk Kong film 'Infernal Affairs' which itself was a decidedly average good cop/bad cop movie. Aside from the generic Scorsese direction the acting is easily the weakest part of the film. DiCaprio and Damon are fairly unremarkable, Jack Nicholson gives the same performance he does for every bad guy he plays and Ray Winstone was plain awful with a cockney/Irish/American accent which was pretty much laughable throughout the whole film. Overall, this is easily one of Scorsese weakest films to date and unfairly showered with awards, more due to guilt at overlooking Scorsese's past films than out of any real merit as a good movie in its own right.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Jack Nicholson's rat impression
- The Departed review by BP
This is a full-on mobster/cop thriller and keeps you guessing throughout. The cast are generally excelled particularly Di Caprio but Wahlberg was a bit over the top. Jack Nicolson seemed to be playing a strange version of his portrayal of the Joker; either that or a parody of himself. At one point he actually does an impression of a rat when he talking about the rat in his organisation... I found his character implausible and that kind of soured the movie for me. I've seen each of the Oscar winning best movies from the last 10 years and this was one of the less good ones in my opinion.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
great film
- The Departed review by LK
great film one film I will watched all the time
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
If you like realism in your mobster films get this
- The Departed review by CP Customer
Gritty, tough, very frightening and even amusing at times, this is an American Gangster film that hits the spot. All the acting is superb but Di Caprio and Nicholson excel.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Second rate Scorsese is still pretty good
- The Departed review by Tim from London
I agree with the first reviewer that this is not up there with classic Scorsese - such as Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver or King of Comedy. It's probably not quite as good as his 'second rate' films like Casino and Last Temptation of Christ - but it's not far off (and certainly better than the Aviator and Bringing out the Dead). I thought it was an enjoyable thriller with some great scenes - but what was missing for me was strong central performances (in the mould of De Niro or Pesci). Still pretty good though.
1 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Excellent Crime Thriller
- The Departed review by GI
Director Martin Scorsese once commented that this was the first film he'd made that actually had a plot. And what a great plot it is. A cat & mouse narrative as Leonardo DiCaprio as undercover cop Billy and Matt Damon as gang member Colin try to identify each other to ensure their survival. The film boasts a great cast with Jack Nicholson excelling in the ultimate bad guy role as Boston crime boss Frank Costello, aided by Ray Winstone (with a slightly dodgy American accent) as his chief lieutenant, who cleverly grooms one of his young gang members Colin to join the Boston police and work his way into the very unit trying to catch him. With an insider in the police Frank feels invulnerable until Colin discovers there's an undercover cop deep in Frank's gang. With splashes of Scorsese's trademark violence, a support cast that includes Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen and a traditional crime thriller story that rattles along at a great pace it's no wonder this won Oscars. It was a departure from what we normally expect from this director but it was a welcome one.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Brilliant acting deeply thoughtful
- The Departed review by JD
This genre suited Leonardo's acting best. His dilemmas and anxieties were tangible. Nicholson was good but didn't draw me in and Damon appears too wooden (better as a superhero). The plot is extremely sound (I hate one with gaps and glitches)and more importantly full of insights and unpleasant truths.
0 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
A bit disappointing given the quality of the cast and the director
- The Departed review by CD
Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent in this quite violent but implausible cop thriller. The body count and gratuitous violence at times devalue the film and the credibility of the plot. It is fun to see Jack Nicholson and Ray Winstone enjoying themselves so much as mobsters, but Matt Damon seems mis-cast and too clean cut for his Machiavellian role. Vera Farmiga puts in a glamorous performance as the police psychiatrist who seems to break all the rules with her clients but at least does not kill anyone, unlike almost every other leading character in this strangely unsatisfying film.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.