Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

The Departed - Scorsese's Masterpiece

I really did think The Departed was great, and thouroughly entertaining, but it's not Mean Streets, it's not Taxi Driver, it's not Goodfellas.

I don't think you can call it a masterpiece, especially when you compare it to some of his early films and sadly you can't give Scorsese an Oscar now just because he should have got one years ago. It kills me still that Dances with Wolves beat Goodfellas to the Oscar!

I'm not even sure it is as good as Infernal Affairs, although it is hard for me to judge as I saw that first a couple of years ago, and loved it. I guess the thing that makes it stop short of brilliant for me is that you believe in and find it hard to choose between both leads/sides in Infernal Affairs, but I found Matt Damon's character very unsympathetic in The Departed.

All that being said, I would still recommend it as a great film to go and watch, with many great performances from some great actors (Mark Wahlberg almost stealing the film!), and a near return to form for Scorsese.
 
mouchoir said:
I really did think The Departed was great, and thouroughly entertaining, but it's not Mean Streets, it's not Taxi Driver, it's not Goodfellas.

I don't think you can call it a masterpiece, especially when you compare it to some of his early films and sadly you can't give Scorsese an Oscar now just because he should have got one years ago. It kills me still that Dances with Wolves beat Goodfellas to the Oscar!

I'm not even sure it is as good as Infernal Affairs, although it is hard for me to judge as I saw that first a couple of years ago, and loved it. I guess the thing that makes it stop short of brilliant for me is that you believe in and find it hard to choose between both leads/sides in Infernal Affairs, but I found Matt Damon's character very unsympathetic in The Departed.

All that being said, I would still recommend it as a great film to go and watch, with many great performances from some great actors (Mark Wahlberg almost stealing the film!), and a near return to form for Scorsese.
Click to expand...


Masterpiece not quite, but great film for sure. Wahlberg was great. Deserving of best supporting actor. Considering the remake sequel garbage that Hollywood is spewing, it makes this film soar comparing it to the year it is released in.
 
mouchoir said:
and sadly you can't give Scorsese an Oscar now just because he should have got one years ago. It kills me still that Dances with Wolves beat Goodfellas to the Oscar!
Click to expand...

well, I'm inclined to think it's happened before, for actors anyway. Russell Crowe won Best Actor for Gladiator, which IMHO was a make-up for the Oscar he should've won for The Insider.

and Pacino got Best Actor for Scent Of A Woman (please...what a piece of crap), which I'm figuring made up for the times he didn't win for The Godfather II, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, or And Justice For All, each of which is immeasurably better than the film for which he actually won.
 
I also thought the movie was spectacular... although all the killings in the end became a little cheesy i thought... and i'm not too big a fan of marky "feel the vibrations" mark either... but still - a great film!

bravo scorz.
 
Abstract said:
Yeah, I heard this movie was great from those who have seen it, and quite good from those who have seen Infernal Affairs first. ;)

I'll see this on video.
Click to expand...
vi - de - o

Wassat? :confused:




Yeah, OK, so I've got one on DEFCON 1 :eek: :D
 
Saw it this weekend and it absolutely blew my mind. This is the kind of movie I wish more people had the balls to make. Not necessarily any warm fuzzies after watching this film, thats for sure.

2 things that I loved (not giving anything away)... 1) The scene where Dicaprios phone is ringing and he is just staring at it... who knew a ringing phone could be so stomach churning? 2) The wrong address, and then the reveal... holy crap, I was getting sick.

I think Leo did an absolutely AMAZING job on this movie. In fact, I think anyone in the film brought their A game. Leo could be one of the great actors of our time. He gets some bad rep because he got big so young, and he is such a good looking ladies man. Sure looks grown up now, though. Although Im NOT digging the accent he has in The Blood Diamond.
 
I saw this movie and three others (The Queen, The Prestige, Running With Scissors) all in one weekend, and while it was the one I was LEAST looking forward to, it was by far my favorite in the end. The others were good too (the last two with some problems), but The Departed I was REALLY pleasantly surprised with.
And I agree, Wahlberg was great, and deserves a nomination for his role.

Only one thing bugged me.
SECRET SPOILER TEXT:

The "twist" of Billy (Leo's character) getting shot at the end was great and totally unexpected. I figured Barrigan (James Badge Dale's character) arrived late to the scene, and assumed the worst and figured Billy needed to be taken down. But... when it's discovered that Barrigan was ALSO an inside man, the credibilty of the film took a nosedive for a bit. I felt it was totally unnecessary, and only done to keep the rapid fire twists going. It just seemed too out-of-the-blue.

But despite that, the film was still incredible, and deserves lots of nominations. Best Scorsese in a loooong time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back