Black Mass Review

Rating: 7/10 (20 March 2017)

Johnny Depp movies are hit or miss. This one is a line up the middle for a base hit. Nothing was really spectacular about the movie, but then again, there wasn't much that hurt the movie too much either. Stick around and see what I really thing.
Synopsis: Based on a true story of James "Whitey" Bulger, an Irish Mob godfather and FBI informant who had a "secret trading" deal with his brother, William "Billy" Bulger, a state senator and a Boston public figure, and John Connolly, an FBI agent. They planned to take down the Italian mob and mafia in Boston, which went awry and things turned massively violent. When the credence for each other began fading out, drug dealing, murders, and extortion started to rise, and forced the FBI's Boston office to confirm that Whitey Bulger was one of the most notorious criminals in US history and also one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List criminals. Starring: Johnny Depp Joel Edgerton Director: Scott Cooper
First off, let's get the one thing out of the way that hurt the movie the most. Yes, this is a movie about the entirety of Whitey "working" with the FBI. Yes, everyone knows everything that Whitey said was completely false or was fabricated from older reports that lasted from the seventies into the nineties. At least let us know when you change time eras though. They did a couple of times, but for the most part they didn't let us know. I had to look at the clothing, cars, and various other objects to try to figure out when in time the movie was happening. Don't make people guess as to what is going on unless it is a strong mystery. If it is a true story, let people know when things are happening.
The good things of the movie, other than the story which I won't go into, are the actors. Every single person was the right person for the job. The only thing I didn't like was that the age difference between Johnny playing Whitey and Dakota Johnson playing his was completely wrong. I know he used to be married to a woman that is the same age as Dakota, but still. There are better actresses for that type of thing. And I know it's nitpicking, but so what. It's how I feel.
Keeping with the actors, Joel Edgerton is a chameleon when it comes to acting. He can do it all it seems. Has this guy ever made a bad movie? I don't think so. He is just that amazing.
I never heard of Scott Cooper before I saw this movie. When I looked him up, it seemed I have seen a few movies of his, but nothing that stood out. Same goes for this movie. It is just there.
Final Thoughts: If you have seen other crime movies that take place in Boston you have them all. Even though this is a true story, it seems that all the crime movies based in Boston take from the Whitey Bulger story. I'm thinking that is why I was not impressed with this movie. Still watchable though.
Rating: 7 out of 10