Reviews of The Departed

Sizzling Scorsese crime drama.

Posted : 1 month, 3 weeks ago on 10 May 2008 02:29 (A review of The Departed)

"When you decide to be something, you can be it. That's what they don't tell you in the church. When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?"

Most people were very sceptical about Scorsese approaching a remake of a highly successful original Asian movie. Personally I really liked the original Asian film Infernal Affairs and was hoping Scorsese could once again pull off his magic.

The Departed is an infinitely better movie than its Asian counter-part in my opinion. I found myself completely engaged in this movie from start to finish. The Departed has all the same key plot points as the Hong Kong picture that spawned it.

For this film Scorsese is not focusing on the usual Italian American gangsters; instead the film is set in Boston where the Irish gangsters dominate the mob and the police. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Billy Costigan; a man on the wrong side of the tracks who has mobster blood in him. Billy graduates from the Massachusetts State Police Academy with plans to bury his mob heritage. But those higher up in the police force have other plans. Because of Billy's background he's the perfect man to infiltrate the Irish mob. Billy is assigned to work undercover (extremely confidentially) and penetrate a group of Irish gangsters lead by infamous Irish mobster Frank Costello (Nicholson). Billy's mission: to acquire enough evidence to have Frank Costello arrested.

Unbeknownst to the police, Frank Costello's protégée Colin Sullivan (Damon) is another young cadet who graduates from the police academy with excellent results. Because Colin reaches a position of such power and importance he is the perfect man to be Frank's mole inside the police. New clues lead to some unfortunate discoveries and both sides soon realise that they're being scrutinised by the enemy. Of course both sides do not desire this close scrutiny; each respective side assigning their mole to discover the identity of the other mole.

One of the main elements of The Departed that made it far superior to Infernal Affairs is that Scorsese takes his time to develop the characters. Infernal Affairs moved so fast and contained cryptic dialogue, hence I had no idea what was actually going on. The characters in that film were also poorly distinguished. With this film, we take a deeply penetrating look at the life of each character. Scorsese is never in a rush to get anywhere. If anything this slow pace made the film a lot more fascinating.

The Departed is an incredible crime thriller that also contains some truly breathtaking performances. Leonardo DiCaprio was an actor I had little respect for. Prior to 2006 he was too much of a pretty boy who gets the girl. With this film and Blood Diamond in the same year, DiCaprio produces his best two performances to date. At the Golden Globes he was nominated twice for Best Actor; one for each respective film. What makes DiCaprio so excellent is his deep and confronting portrayal. Billy Costigan is a profoundly insightful, multi-faceted character. At first he displays professionalism. But when he is put undercover he has become the bad boy. I never expect him to pull off such a stunning portrayal after all his 'pretty boy' roles. Matt Damon is every bit as brilliant as DiCaprio. He shows a wide range of emotions and he never strikes a false note. Jack Nicholson is truly electrifying! He plays Costello with an intimidating screen presence. Like each amazing performance, there is believability and vulnerability expressed throughout the film.

The film's screenplay is fantastic. Heavy drama is balanced out with a high level of violence and bloodshed. When Scorsese wants a character's death to be violent he doesn't hesitate to add endless amounts of blood into a shot. After decades of moviemaking and decades of making the best quality crime films around, Martin Scorsese finally scored an Oscar at the Academy Awards for his extraordinary directing. The film clocks at approximately 140 minutes; however director Scorsese maintains focus and concentration for every frame that appears in the film. It's impossible to fault the filmmaking in any way.

I particularly liked how classy its style is. There's catchy music played frequently, compelling drama and violent action. You know this is definitely a film by Martin Scorsese.

The Departed could be Scorsese's best film. Personally I loved his movies like Taxi Driver, GoodFellas and Casino. Like the films he made beforehand, Scorsese does not disappoint. He continues to remind us why he is the guru of the crime thriller genre. The only drawback on The Departed would be its shocking and depressing conclusion. Although because of the film's nature and style it was almost to be expected.

Overall, this is a thriller you simply cannot afford to miss. Winner of several Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

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Perfect.

Posted : 4 months, 3 weeks ago on 13 February 2008 08:46 (A review of The Departed)

This is easily, my all-time favorite film. I just love it, it is excellent, top notch. I could watch it over and over again, and still be into it, a year from now. This is easily Martin Scorsese's best film, he has ever directed. I do not think, there will ever, be a better film made, then "The Departed". This is a perfect film.

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Great

Posted : 9 months, 3 weeks ago on 15 September 2007 08:07 (A review of The Departed)

A good movie, entertaining and lots of action, which is what I like in a movie.

A confusing and perplexing plot, as though it's not just what meets the eye.. but it still manages to keep the viewer enthralled and entertained throughout it's length.

The ending was a bit sudden, but going back on it now I think it's what the movie needed. Not satisfying but it seems as if most questions have been answered and the mystery has finally been resolved. An awesome and entertaining movie.-

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Bahston, it's killa

Posted : 1 year, 2 months ago on 1 May 2007 10:11 (A review of The Departed)

What a wicked good movie, guy.

There were a ton of familiar faces in this, and it actually wasn't distracting. Great plot line around Leo and the gang, and he does a heck of a job at playing both sides. Twists and turns and you don't quite know what's going to happen next, or who's going to come out on top...

We also paused it during the last 10 mins so we could go eat dinner, that was kinda rough.

Honestly, I liked Alec Baldwin in this, I just get a kick out of him.

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Seeriously good

Posted : 1 year, 2 months ago on 29 April 2007 07:55 (A review of The Departed)

Holy cow there are a lot of good actors in this movie, all speaking with a thick Boston accent. That's why you should see it, seeriously. No, but seriously, a great movie. Definitely tense, and I think DiCaprio was great (and no, I didn't/don't have posters of him plastered all over my wall). His situation was tense and I felt like I needed to take a Xanax for him to keep his head from exploding from the stress of being an undercover cop in the mob while trying not to be uncovered by the mob guy who is undercover as a cop. You will enjoy this movie, trust me. Seeeriously. Nomahhhh. Wicked. Ok, I'll stop now.

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Infiltrados

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 27 February 2007 08:28 (A review of The Departed)

Un gran reparto y un gran director dificilmente puedan fallar, excelente policial, entretenido, dinámico, que hace crecer a cada minuto el interés del espectador y culmina con un final totalmente imprevisible que corona un gran trabajo de Scorsese.
Otro review en : http://maguila.com.ar/infiltrados/

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A solid Scorsese film

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 19 February 2007 06:38 (A review of The Departed)

My wife and I watched The Departed this weekend. I thought it was a great movie trying to stay with the game of cat and mouse. My wife on the other hand went back to removing wallpaper, literally. She is not a big fan of having to follow movies closely so it's not her piece of cake. I on the other hand love the movies that require some thought and I found this to be a good one. I heard some compare it with Goodfellas but it is not up to par with the classic. If you like Scorsese then you will be happy with the film.

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Good remake

Posted : 1 year, 7 months ago on 4 December 2006 03:33 (A review of The Departed)

Finally Hollywood does more than just sully the name of a decent Asian flick. Most remakes have been absolute trash but The Departed does a good job of standing up to Infernal Affairs.

The pacing was a little off in parts but the acting was for the most part top notch. I am not a huge fan of Nicholson but even he didn't piss me off as much as he usually does.

The movie falls short in that it made the audience laugh unintentionally in a few places - whether that is the fault of the movie or of general movie-goers is a totally other matter. There are a few beautiful scenes from the original that are missing/lacking in The Departed and I found they explained things too much. Too much talking and too much pushing each other around. Infernal Affairs excelled in what wasn't said - I missed that in The Departed. The ending in this is terrible by comparison to the original.

Overall though a solid movie and a "should watch". I'd give it a "must watch" but there is a better movie from Hong Kong with the same storyline that you should see instead.

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Excellent Film

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago on 29 October 2006 12:34 (A review of The Departed)

The Departed is an amazing film -- one that I would consider Scorcese's best. I've seen Infernal Affairs, and while it was an interesting idea, it had a lot of problems. The Departed feels like the realization of what Infernal Affairs could and should have been. The cast is amazing, and Leonardo DiCaprio's performance is especially admirable. The Departed is one of the best crime thrillers in years, and I'd highly recommend it.

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Awkward

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago on 12 October 2006 09:50 (A review of The Departed)

Unfortunately I've already seen Infernal Affairs, the film which The Departed is based on, and I am a bit biased. The Departed has an all star cast, but it still fall short compared to Infernal Affairs in regards to character development, and suspense. The Departed lacks the pace and slickness that the original movie had. It is a good movie but not one of Scorsese's best efforts.

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