Powerful yet poorly told, (may grow on you with multiple viewings)

Rating: Null/10 (28 June 2010)

One thing that can be said about Marty Scorsese, the man looks nothing like his movies; Five and a half feet, chirpy voice, dorky glasses, but he makes BIG dramas (though not all of them are good).
Gangs of New York is a macho 19th century American epic, well designed and packs a heck of a brutal punch, but it comes with a story that is clunky, ponderous, and not very involving. Scorsese invests too much in style and not enough in substance, some of his famous tracking shots go on way too long, Leo Dicaprio and Cameron Diaz are pretty faces, but they don't have much to say or do. Daniel Day Lewis' performance is epic and memorable, but unlike There Will Be Blood (yet to come) it doesn't save the movie. In the end, Gangs of New York is kind of boring.
This is how I felt the first time I saw the movie. It grew on me a little the second time when I was a bit older, and able to appreciate just how demanding a film this is. I still have a few complaints, but I won't argue that Gangs of New York is a bad film. Cinema goers, will probably see plenty of value in it, but the Marty Scorsese who brought us Raging Bull and Goodfellas is not the same guy behind this one.