Great film, but depressing...

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2001)

"Casino" is a great film, but it's a film I can only watch rarely because it's so depressing. In contrast to the always-entertaining "Goodfellas," Casino has the same high production values and excellent acting, but in my opinion the plot is somewhat weaker and it's just so depressing. The first half of the movie is very entertaining, but once everything starts to go downhill the movie becomes almost painful to watch, and viewing the ending scenes is like being slowly bludgeoned by a sledgehammer.
Great job, almost too good. After developing an affection for these characters, we get to watch them slooooowwwllyyyy deteriorate in their own rot. The effect is something like watching a loved one die slowly of cancer.
Well, I like and admire this movie (and own it on DVD) but I just can't watch it too often. 8/10 -- maybe it deserves a 9 or a 10, but I have to include overall entertainment value in my ratings, especially a picture aimed at mainstream audiences.