Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Departed - A twisted crime thriller , February 15, 2007
I wasn't sure what to expect upon viewing this film. I was aware of Scorsese's projects of the past, but it was perhaps the diverse cast that included Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin and Jack Nicholson that made it to tempting to pass up. It is in the pot for "Best film of the Year" so its not like I was expecting it to be bad, it just took me a while to get around to it!
The Departed is a great crime drama that isn't so much high on the "drama" setting as much as it is high on "whodunit" suspense. I won't say too much in terms of creating any spoilers so I'll just lightly touch on the storyline. Matt Damon plays Colin Sullivan, a kid who grew up under the wing of Frank Costello (Nicholson) who tutors the boy at a young age of his own views of life and business among other things. Later on in life Colin becomes a cop, and quickly works his way up the ranks. DiCaprio is Billy Costigan, another cop who has to take a different route in order to ultimately be an undercover agent. Wahlberg is Sergeant Dignam, who is a sidekick to Martin Sheen's character, Captain Queenan. Their job is to oversee the internal investigation into Castillo and ultimately bring him down. Alec Baldwin is Captain Ellerby, who puts Colin in charge of finding a snitch within the ranks of the police department. Things start to get tight for Castillo, a guy who has a multitude of his own henchman to sort through in order to find out if the rumor of a snitch within his own house is truth or myth.
The film is superb in it's character development. Each actor has a great part and brings to the table all the creative skill and mannerisms necessary to bring unique and innovative qualities to the screen. The stakes are high, and the show does an excellent job of mixing in all the bullet flying, cursing double-crossing you can shake a stick at. The pacing is perfect as we get time to learn something from each scene and activity, while trying figure out just how it all is going to boil down. As the film progresses, the action heats up as well as the internal drama that unfolds within the side of law enforcement as well as Castillo's operations. Throw in the beautiful Vera Farmiga as Madolyn and you have even more twists added to the film. Madolyn is a professional counselor who ends up deeper in the storm than you could imagine.
Scorsese does an excellent job with this film and my hat is off to a fine performance by all. The domino effect of a final reckoning never seems to end, although it eventually does, but in the meantime it still leaves the film planted with a bevy of surprises at every turn. Yes, it does have profanity and graphic violence, but if you've watched your share of crime drama's that are gritty and have a hair trigger, you should not be surprised. -Eddie Lancekick
|
|
|
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant remake of "Infernal Affairs", October 13, 2006
It's a tricky business adapting a foreign movie for an American audience. Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" captures all the best elements of the original film "Infernal Affairs" and works traditional Scorsese themes and material into the film making it very much his own and every bit the equal to the Chinese film. Featuring outstanding performances all around perhaps this film will finally earn Scorsese the Oscar for Best Director that he deserved for "Raging Bull" over twenty years ago.
Two state trooper academy graduates one an undercover officer named Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a mole in the department Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) working for crime lord Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson)have opposite goals. Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Sgt. Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) charge Costigan with gathering as much dirt as possible on Sullivan so they can finally take him out. They work up a false history for Costigan which includes a brief stint in prison to create credibility. By comparison Sullivan is a boy scout who rises to the top of his department rapidly working for Ellerby (Alec Baldwin)in a rival department. Both are charged with ferriting out the mole in their respective organizations and both are romancing the same woman (Vera Farmiga) without ever meeting.
It's a brilliantly constructed game of cat and mouse with each playing the respective role at one point in time. Filled with brilliant visuals that echo the themes of the script adapted by William Monahan ("Kingdom of Heaven")from the script by Siu Fai Mak and Felix Chong the film manages to stay true to the elements that worked best in the Chinese film while incorporating elements unique to "The Departed". DiCaprio and Damon give complex, compelling performances as opposite sides of the same coin. Nicholson plays Costello with psychopathic intensity at times without going too far over the top. The entire cast gives stellar performances but I'd like to note tree actors in particularly who do the most with their limited roles--Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen (who replaced two other actors that had to drop out--Robert DeNiro and Gerard McSorley)and Mark Whalberg all three give intense performances and inhabit their characters fully. Vera Farmiga handles her role of Madolyn equalling the big boys despite the fact that her character isn't given as much screen time by comparison. Special note should also be made of actor Ray Winstone ("The Proposition", "King Arthur" and "Cold Mountain") who gives a nice edgy performance as Mr. French.
The film runs 2 hours and 22 minutes. Scorsese uses every minute to allow the actors to build their characters or for brilliant set pieces. The film does sag a bit towards the middle but that's partially due to its complex set up for the story during the first twenty minutes of the film.
|
|
|
153 of 205 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not A Departure For Scorsese, October 18, 2006
After getting some uncalled for flack recently for his films "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator" director Martin Scorsese returns to those gritty mean streets he seems to know oh so well. How odd it is then to find out that the film did not come from Scorsese's imagination. Instead it is a remake of the 2004 Hong Kong action/thriller "Infernal Affairs". But, that doesn't really matter because Scorsese takes the material and makes it his own.
"The Departed" is going to get some unfair comparisons with "Infernal Affairs" from devoted fans of the original. I never like to do that. I also don't like when people compare the book to the movie version. Both pieces of work exist within their own world. They are seperate from each other.
Leonardo DiCaprio (the recent favorite of Scorsese, whom in my opinion needs to find a new muse already) plays Billy Costigan, who comes from a poor working class family that mostly consist of family member who were on the wrong side of the law (depending which side of the law you're on). He has managed though to work his way up and become a cop.
Matt Damon plays Colin Sullivan, who appears to be the exact opposite. Sullivan is one of those people who probably got straight "A's", stayed at home and studied while you were out playing baseball and was a loner. He too has become a police officer who is well thought of and clearly on a successful path.
These two characters never share a great amount of screentime together in "The Departed" but their impact on each other is apparent throughout the entire film.
Costigan is told by one of his superior officers Oliver Queenam (Martin Sheen) that because of his background he is not really "police material". Queenam flat out tells him you will never make it as a cop. So Queenam tells Costigan he has a special assignment for him. He wants Costigan to go undercover and get into Frank Costello's (Jack Nicholson) inner circle where the Boston Police have been trying to arrest him for years.
"The Departed" soon takes on one of Scorsese's favorite themes, childhood loyalty. Sullivan, back in his youth, became very friendly with Costello and now as a cop has turned into a crooker officer. How will the Boston police ever catch Costello?
The performances in "The Departed" are all pitch perfect. DiCaprio and Damon, who get top billing, are not just the only two worth watching. Even supporting characters like the ones played by Alec Baldwin and just so it's not all all boy's show, Vera Farmiga as Madolyn are both enjoyable to watch. But, perhaps the most memorable performances is the one given by Jack Nicholson. Rarely has an actor relished playing a villian moreso. The sheer exuberance of his performance makes the screen come alive. This isn't the Jack of recent films like "Something's Gotta Give" and "About Schmidt". Jack lets loose here and plays the role with the same spirit he did the Joker in "Batman". I would even go as far as saying every performance here deserves to get an Oscar nomination.
Some people may ask is this film as good as Scorsese's other films? That's a stupid question. Who cares? It seems, according to the reviews and box-office numbers (this marks Scorsese's highest box-office debut) people are responding well to this film. It is a powerful, well made gangster film that is about more than violence. As I said it is about loyalty and who we choose to give that loyalty to. This is one of the best films of the year! In fact the movie is so good I'm sure Scorsese will lose another Oscar race, just as his best films always do.
Bottom-line: One of the year's best films. "The Departed" finds Scorsese going back to the gritty mean streets of his past and makes this remake a work of his own. Every performance here deserves to get nominated.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Video On Demand ~ Leonardo DiCaprio
Video On Demand ~ Robert De Niro
Video On Demand ~ Julian Glover
Video On Demand ~ Daniel Craig
Video On Demand ~ Clint Eastwood
Video On Demand ~ Denzel Washington
Video On Demand ~ Leonardo DiCaprio
Video On Demand ~ Denzel Washington
