I would put this alongside Donnie Brasco and Casino. Not quite as good as The Departed but it's not too far behind. Watch this!

Rating: 9/10 (1 October 2015)

"If nobody sees it, it didn't happen." James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp) controls Boston. He runs the most powerful mob in the city and his brother is a powerful state Senator. When he is approached by John Connolly (Edgerton) with an offer of an alliance with the FBI he thinks of it as a business deal. Now, free to do anything he wants, with the protection of the FBI, Bulger rises not only in the mafia power structure, but also to the 2nd most wanted man in the country, behind Osama Bin Laden. This is a movie I was really excited to watch. I am not a huge Johnny Depp fan but the mafia genre is my favorite. About 20 min in I have to say that I was very impressed with Depp and I think this is the best acting I have ever seen him do. For an actor like Depp to disappear totally into a character is difficult to do, but he pulled it off. The contacts helped, but his expressions and actions were unlike anything he has ever done, to the point of it being disturbing. I love all mafia shows but unlike the majority of them (Sopranos, Godfather, Goodfellas) this one makes you root against the main character. Overall, one of the best movies of this type to come out if a very long time. I wouldn't put this on the same level as Godfather or Goodfellas, but I would put it alongside Donnie Brasco and Casino. Not quite as good as The Departed (Nicholson's character was based on Bulger) but it's not too far behind. I really liked this. I give this an A-.