Goodfellas Pt.II, in all the right ways

Rating: 9/10 (14 June 2011)

The simply titled "Casino", one of many Scorsese/ De Niro collaborations, tells the fact-based story of Las Vegas, 1970. Many themes are present, most notably the power of money and greed. The usual suspects are here, and both De Niro and Joe Pesci fit their roles very well; De Niro the suave, level-headed thinker, and Pesci the volatile buttonman.
Five minutes in, and an appropriate title popped into my head: Goodfellas Part II. All the signature aspects of that bar-setting film are present in Casino: smart-talking, wiseguy narrators, constant music in the background, constant action and furious dialogue, swearing (you won't BELIEVE some of Pesci's rants), and dripping mafia style. One thing that isn't the same though is setting: Las Vegas.
The stakes here are higher, so lots about the movie has been scaled up as well. The plot is rich, with many angles. Goodfellas had a more contained story with less to explain, or it was just explained better. The first 20 minutes of Casino tell you all kinds of Vegas info very quickly. I hope you know your gambling. I don't want to say it's a fault, because it's very necessary, but it seems almost rushed. But it's not like it would affect the runtime, the film is almost 3 full hours. I'm a fan of that though, this is a bog movie with lots to tell. And because of great pacing and exciting moments, it's a 3 hour treat.
The content has been elevated too. Violent and vulgar, this is not a film for kids. But it's all important. Pesci's character Nicky does most of the swearing, probably 300 or so f words from him alone, because he's always in a foul mood, which makes him unpredictable. Then there's the violence. Starting with a scene involving a pen, this is super-duper violent, showing just what people do to get what they want, or because they're crazy Nicky.
If you told someone this was a Scorsese/Tarantino collaboration, they'd probably believe you. Scenes with the vice, hammer and bat are right out of the Tarantino killbook, or out of Dead Rising. They keep you on edge and are brutal.
Casino takes everything about Goodfellas, minus Ray Liotta, and puts it in Vegas. Except for a confusing start that can't really be dealt with, the only reason Casino didn't enjoy the success of Goodfellas is its bland name and being released 5 years later. See Goodfellas, then see this. 8.9/10