Maybe It's Warmed Over "GoodFellas," But Left Overs Can Be Good Too

Rating: 8/10 (12 May 2009)

At the time, people largely dismissed "Casino" as a re-tread of "GoodFellas." Consensus was that Martin Scorsese had done it all before and done it better.
There may be some truth to that claim, but "Casino" is still one hell of a wild ride, and it's impulsively watchable.
Just as "GoodFellas" had nearly documentary-like segments devoted to the details of Mafia life, "Casino" takes the viewer behind the scenes of the gambling industry, and it's fascinating.
The cast is uniformly fine. Sure, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci are good in typical Scorsese-movie roles, but the standouts are Sharon Stone and James Woods as a loose cannon wife and a sleazy lover, respectively.
Grade: A