A Worthy Follow-Up to "Goodfellas"

Rating: 9/10 (26 September 2019)

"Casino" is basically a spiritual sequel to "Goodfellas": Martin Scorsese reunites Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Frank Vincent to tell the tale of a mobster's violent rise and fall in 1970s America. "Casino" isn't quite as good as "Goodfellas," but it's still a great movie in its own right. Scorsese, the master, avoids remaking "Goodfellas" by introducing new themes of doomed love and Catholic guilt that help to create a layered, engaging story. As he did before with New York City (and later with Boston) Scorsese uses the city of Las Vegas perfectly as a setting, portraying it as a sleepless town of bright lights and flashy cars ready to be taken advantage of by the American underworld. We experience the energy and excitement of the city's nightlife just as the characters do, and we understand why they'd want to escape to this lonely city in the desert where their dreams could come true - only for them to be dashed on the rocks of dirty money and broken relationships.
As always in a Scorsese picture the cast is excellent. Every actor is amazing in "Casino", especially Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone. My favorite aspect of the movie is Robert Richardson's cinematography, which uses lighting and color to emphasize the film's dynamic setting and create a haunting atmosphere during the film's scenes of gangster violence. On nearly every level "Casino" is a great movie - except the pacing. This movie doesn't need to be three hours long; the third act in particular drags well past its sell-by date. And while Scorsese didn't replicate "Goodfellas" when he made "Casino," he still tells a familiar story that had already been done better before. Between "Casino" and "Goodfellas" I easily prefer the latter, but that doesn't mean "Casino" isn't a great movie. 9/10.