Welcome back, Mr. Depp, we've missed you

Rating: 7/10 (16 March 2016)

I really don't know a whole lot about James "Whitey" Bulger outside of what I got in the documentary about him that came out shortly before this film. Needless to say, he was quite an unsavory character, but interesting movies have been made about those types, even in the gangster genre. BLACK MASS didn't always work as an engaging story, despite combining two of my biggest interests (gangsters and true crime), because it never really focused on a particular aspect of the events and, as such, was a little unwieldy and never really let its characters develop. To be sure, it has an impressive cast and all of them do fine work, but few of them outside of Johnny Depp were given any room to make an impression. Still, this is a well-crafted film from a technical perspective, with excellent camera-work, a good score (courtesy of Junkie XL, no less), and a welcome return to form by Johnny Depp. This is the best I've seen him in years, possibly since DONNIE BRASCO. For all of the faults in the narrative structure, Johnny Depp is what makes this worth watching. There are times when he was legitimately frightening, even though a couple of these moments were partially given away in the trailers. Although BLACK MASS aspires to be in the same company as GOODFELLAS and DONNIE BRASCO, it doesn't quite live up to them, at least in terms of lasting quality and rewatchability. Still, it is a perfectly serviceable true crime tale with a top-notch performance by Depp, itself alone to recommend at least one viewing.