Scorsese Missed the Mark

Rating: 6/10 (4 August 2010)

Martin Scorsese is working with a subject that suits him to a tee -- gang warfare in the streets of New York -- and the film's got his trademark kinetic style -- something's always happening on screen. So why does the whole film feel so leaden and uninvolving?
"Gangs of New York" should have been kick ass. Instead, the most it got out of me was a shrug of the shoulders and a "meh." Daniel Day-Lewis acts up a storm and is certainly something to see as Bill "The Butcher," the vicious leader of one of the film's eponymous gangs. But unfortunately, the story takes place through the perspective of Leonardo DiCaprio's character, and DiCaprio, usually a fine actor, simply isn't up to the task here. Cameron Diaz, meanwhile, shouldn't be let within 100 feet of a period piece.
The film's period look is detailed and authentic -- there's an awful lot of mud in those 19th Century New York streets. But the overall impression is that Scorsese missed the mark with this one.
Grade: B-