A Passable Movie

Rating: 5/10 (29 September 2012)

With a cast that included Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen and Anne Heche I honestly expected something slightly better than this. Make no mistake, it isn't a bad picture by any means. But in some places it seemed rather dark and slow-moving. Even so, Al Pacino was excellent as the hit man (Lefty Ruggiero). Johnny Depp (as the undercover FBI agent "Donnie Brasco/Joe Pistone") and Michael Madsen ("Sonny Black") also turned in fine performances as well. And while Anne Heche ("Maggie Pistone") was definitely cute, I thought the movie could have used a bit more fine-tuning in the relationship between her and Johnny Depp. Perhaps if they had shown some happier moments between the two prior to him taking the undercover assignment it would have added some depth to her character. As it was, all we get to see is a strained relationship from the very start. Likewise, it seems the film ends a little too soon and it could have been drawn out a bit more. All things considered, this was a passable movie and fans of Al Pacino or Johnny Depp probably won't be too disappointed.