"The Departed"

[JayBee74]

Re: "The Departed"

I would have to agree. Just because it is Scorses, makes you expect something amazing, and when the movie is just "good" it is a letdown.

Oh and btw, Robert De Niro would of been a much better fit than Jack. too bad.

Nicholson was good in the role, but there is an underlying fun loving wackiness to him that makes him less convincing as a mob boss, than lets say a De Niro or a Pacino (although Al's definitive Italian looks might make him a stretch for an Irishman.) A later revelation in the movie takes away more weight from his character. Make no mistake about it, the movie is mostly about the police officers portrayed by Damon and DiCaprio(who carry the film) and one or both will get an Oscar nom for their performances. There are some slow spots, particularly the shared relationship between Damon and the female shrink and DiCaprio and the shrink, but overall it moves at a good pace . Walberg and Sheen were great as the two officers who set up DiCaprio's criminal credentials (with his knowledge), and monitor his progress, as they are the only two that know his undercover identity. I'd give it a solid 3 stars.

[Kodiak33]

Re: "The Departed"

Saw this movie last night...amazing.

[Hooe]

Re: "The Departed"

Saw this last night... movie was very good, but... I hated the ending.

[JayBee74]

Re: "The Departed"

Saw this last night... movie was very good, but... I hated the ending.

I'm not going to say i hated it but it was a little "Arcadey".

[marino13]

Re: "The Departed"

Saw this last night.My favorite movie this year by a mile.I loved the ending.

[dieselboy]

Re: "The Departed"

Loved the ending?

I thought the very last scene was good for the end, but everything building up the ending was just thrown together.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: "The Departed"

Did The Departed meet my very high expectations? No
Was this move better than Goodfellas and Casino? No
Did the movie contain Oscar worthy acting performances? Yes
Was I entertained? Yes

I felt like there was a pacing issue with The Departed. The first 45 minutes of the movie was too slow and lacked action/suspense. After the initially lull, the movie was terrific the rest of the way. By the end of the film, I didn’t feel like it was 152 minutes long.

While The Departed is a crime drama/thriller, it’s funnier than 90% of the movies that bill themselves as comedies. Most of the Alec Baldwin scenes were funny. The sold out theatre I was at cracked up when Baldwin said “Marriage is good. Let's people know you're not a homo.” Nicholson was pretty over the top as Frank Costello. Right off the bat he drops a racial slur in his first scene and you know he’s not a nice guy (btw nice song choice with Gimme Shelter to open the film). Later in the movie he enters the bar with a bloody shirt without any explanation. Mark Wahlberg is a sleeper pick for Best Supporting Oscar. His character was a prick and he played it well. But the 2 main stars are Damon and DiCaprio. Because DiCaprio was the good guy mole inside the mob, his role was more meatier than Damon’s. He displayed great range going from ruthless thug to being disgusted with himself because of what he had to do to maintain his cover. DiCaprio’s performance stood out from the rest of his cast and I would be shocked if he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar.

There was tremendous suspense built up for the eventual phone call between Billy Costigan and Colin Sullivan. Not only where they close to exposing each other, but they were also seeing the same psychiatrist without even knowing it.

Anthony Anderson was miscast as a cop. His role was 100% serious but every time he appeared, I was waiting for him to crack a joke. Besides the pacing issue I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t a big fan of one of the big twists that took place in the final 20 minutes of the film.

Final Grade: Upon leaving the theatre I graded the movie a B, but after further reflection, I give The Departed a B+




MAJOR SPOILER WARNING



The multiple murders at the elevator caught me off guard. I didn’t expect Costigan to get blasted like that. Barrigan was revealed as another mole but his character was under-developed to the point where I felt a little bit cheated. Perhaps I missed the explanation, but I didn’t understand why Frank Costello was working with the cops. After that elevator scene, I knew Sullivan would die from the hands of Dignam after he walked into his apartment. Great symbolism with the rat by the window and the view of the Church from his apartment. He basically paid for his sins.

The psychiatrist was pregnant by the end of the movie but it was never revealed who was the father.

Hopefully there’s a directors commentary when the DVD comes out.

[JayBee74]

Re: "The Departed"

DiCaprio’s performance stood out from the rest of his cast and I would be shocked if he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar.

I don't think so. Damon's performance was more subtle, but no less exceptional.

[BTB]

Re: "The Departed"

Just saw it and thought the movie was absolutely incredible. Best movie I've seen in a WHILE.

[tenth]

Re: "The Departed"

Really enjoyed it. Kind of went longer than I would have liked, as it felt like it was dragging a bit at the end (may have just been me tired), but there wouldn't have been much you could edit out (unlike most movies in the 2.5 hour range).

Best movie I've seen in a long while. somewhere in the 9 or 10 range for me.

[mjb2124]

Re: "The Departed"

Just got back from seeing it. While I liked it, I didn't think it was THAT great. Maybe I overhyped it. I don't know, I just walked away from it thinking "That's it?". I even overheard a few people behind me laugh at the end and say "This is why I don't pay to see movies anymore".

Frankly I thought there were some interesting parts, but it fell apart at times and especially at the end for me. The end seemed a little bit thrown together and there were parts that were obvious (although the guy behind me couldn't figure out whether Damon or Dicaprio was good/bad).

With that said, I thought there were some excellent performances. I'm not a fan of Dicaprio, but I thought his performance was excellent. Same goes for the rest of the main case - Damon, Wahlberg, Nicholson etc... With all the good performances I'm surprised I didn't like the entire movie more than I did.

[aukevin]

Re: "The Departed"

With that said, I thought there were some excellent performances. I'm not a fan of Dicaprio, but I thought his performance was excellent. Same goes for the rest of the main case - Damon, Wahlberg, Nicholson etc... With all the good performances I'm surprised I didn't like the entire movie more than I did.

DiCaprio has really started to be a good actor in my eyes. He's no longer the whiney boy from Growing Pains or the Titanic kid. He's done some great roles the past 5 years or so and has done them real good. This movie was no exception. I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but movies like these don't always have you leaving excited like maybe a movie like Die Hard or something. Definitely am A+ movie in my book though.

[Lintyfresh85]

Re: "The Departed"

Absolutely loved it! Didn't see the ending (besides the Wahlberg part of course) coming at all. I used to not be a fan of Leo like most of you, but he's really grown over the years... Damon was great but my favorite actor had to be Wahlberg, he was a dick, and he played it to a T... Nothing better than when he's walking by Damon who's in his new office, doesn't say a word just flips the bird and keeps walking, freaking hilarious LOL...

5 out of 5 stars for me!

[Beantown]

Re: "The Departed"

Such a goold movie.

Great perfromances, great twist at the end(well...the "first" ending...the end, end wasn't very surprising but was still very fitting)

Probably one of the best movies I've seen in a very long time. Plus we got to see some sweet previews before. (Babel, 300, Catch a Fire)

[shadymouse]

Re: "The Departed"

I thought this movie was awesome. Im a huge fan of Matt and Leo. I began liking Leo a lot after "Catch Me if u Can". Anyway the humor in the movie mixed with the violence topped off with a great plot, cooked up this 5 star movie. However, this jus might be a 1 time movie, with an ending like it had it would be pretty hard to watch it again 'till the end IMO.