Don't make me be a bad guy....

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2015)

Sam 'Ace' Rothstein, a mob-connected casino operator in Las Vegas, attempts a civilised lifestyle with his money-conditional wife, ex-lady of the night, Ginger.
Nicky Santoro, a boyhood friend of Ace and now a Made-Man of the Mafia, arrives in town with an ambitious agenda of his own that soon disrupts Ace's life.....
The thing about Casino is that almost everyone who thought Goodfellas was a masterpiece would undoubtedly have monumental expectations for this, what could be classed metaphorically, as a sequel.
Well while it never reaches the dizzy heights or beautiful character arcs of Goodfellas, it's still a solid movie from Scorcese, and proof that he and De Niro were a the top of their games when they worked together.
Even though it's almost three hours long, it's just unmissable cinema. For example, it was on TV the other night and I thought to myself 'I'll watch this for thirty minutes before I go to bed', but it's hypnotic cinematography and soundtrack made me stay until the end.
De Niro is wonderful as usual, channelling a little of Jimmy Conway's attitude, but this time, Sam is a little more of a coward than before, and although he has good intentions for everyone, where money is involved, you can't please or trust anyone.
Pesci surprisingly is the weak link in the film. I'm not saying he's no good, the man is a phenomenal actor, but here, he's literally doing his Tommy Devito character, and when you channel a character as memorable as that one, it's going to get noticed.........much like his face being pinned back to make his look younger.
Stone gives the performance of her life as the insufferable Ginger, when an actress can give a performance where the audience has not an ounce of sympathy, or empathy for the character she's portraying, that's a job done blooming well. She deserved every award going that year, her Ginger is a poisonous, money hungry addict, evil to the bone.
It's beautiful to look at, the desert confrontation between Sam and Nicky is insanely intense, but at the same time beautiful.
The film follows the same narrative structure as Goodfellas had, the main character narrating the story, and certain songs depicting the year, which again is a weak point, because you just keep referring to that film.
So all in all, it's a solid film, beautiful to look at, with a career best from Stone, but it feels like it's trying too much to be Goodfellas, which gives it a little air of desperation.