long, slow paced Boston mob movie

Rating: 6/10 (20 February 2016)

From 2015, Black Mass is the story of Boston mobster Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp), the boss of the Boston Irish Mob called the Winter Hill Gang. His brother was President of the Massachusetts Senate, William Bulger, here played by Benedict Cumberbatch.
Under investigator John Connelly (Joel Edgerton), Whitey served as an informant, with Connelly giving information to the FBI. Whitey's crimes were ignored as he fed them info on other gangs, using the FBI to destroy other gangs while his stayed in power. Once his activities - drugs, murder, racketeering, money laundering, Irish gun running, and extortion were exposed, everyone was humiliated.
Bulger took off for sixteen years, finally arrested at the age of 81 in California, and is now in prison.
The performances are all terrific. I lived in Boston and I personally saw nothing wrong with Benedict Cumberbatch's accent, or anyone else's -- when people don't want to like you, they don't, and that's it. Edgerton and the rest of the cast were very effective.
Depp is terrifying, keeping his voice low but ready to snap at any second. A marvelous performance. I'm not sure why Cumberbatch did this film - he doesn't have a very large role. He reminded me a little of Dennis Quaid here, though I'm not sure why.
Truth be told, I watched this because I love Depp and Cumberbatch, but this to me was not a great movie. Lots of violence and the f-bomb every other word is fine, but putting up with all that blood just wasn't worth it. In the hands of a less experienced cast, I think this would have a real dud.
I think the pace could have been much better, and at 2 hours and 3 minutes, maybe 10 or 15 minutes -- a couple of strangulations perhaps - could have been cut. We got the point - cross him and he'll kill you.