Excellent epic, good characters, perfect setting.

Rating: Null/10 (21 December 2002)

Gangs of New York takes place in 19th Century New York (the early 1850s to be exact) and tells us the story set around the masses of Irish immigrants coming to New York, at the same time the civil war was raging, and an insight into early gang influences in New York.
The English `natives' who were descended from early English settlers (when escaping British rule) are the dominating gang in New York's `Five Points' neighbourhood. The opening scene displays a showdown gang-battle between some of the earliest Irish immigrants and their allegiances, against the `Natives' who object to outsiders coming in to their territory'.
Sixteen years later, the young boy who had escaped the war is now a man. It was his father that led the Irish `Dead Rabbits' gang, but was brutally killed in that brutal and bloody opening battle.
His return is subtle, and he unintentionally works his way into the gang, befriending the man who killed his father sixteen years earlier.

However, there is much more to this film that a possible vengeance plot. There is the civil war aspect, and the political hand plays a very persuasive role. Immigrants are constantly arriving by ship, and there is a draw to their attention. The big picture' story here is one that you do not want to ignore.
Even though the elements of gang mythos are present (the power-by-fear, the sharing of profits, the respect, and even the political involvement) do not fool yourself. This is NOT your ordinary gang-film.
Gangs of New York is so much more and with good reason. This film has been on Scorsese's mind for a little over 20 years. In fact, it was supposed to be his next production after Taxi Driver was released in 1977. Apparently it got pushed back for one reason or another as well, the production release was delayed due to the September 11th attacks, and the release was delayed due to the mass of summer blockbusters. But its delay was worth the wait. The production of this film is astonishing. There really is no reason to doubt that you are in 19th Century New York City, no reason to believe that the characters are real. Their behaviour for the time period and location they are in is absolutely believable.
DiCaprio plays his most commanding role, and he does it fairly well. He can't do an Irish accent, but that's nothing to be concerned about. However the show is stolen by Daniel Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis gives his character, Bill Cutting, a very ferocious, cynical, and confident demeanor. That's not to say the other characters are not equally colorful, because they are. But it is his delivery of this character that makes him shine. I would be disappointed if he is not nominated for a supporting actor Oscar.
Another interesting point of mention (without spoiling) is the attitude between different groups that are shown in the film and how they compare with those that exist today  ranging from law enforcement, fire fighters, politics, and even crime involvement.
Gangs of New York may be the best movie out this year. It's an epic piece, set in a period' time frame, in a setting we all are familiar with. We can relate to the characters, and we can learn a few things along the way.
Although the film is excellent and well done, I found some parts of it a bit weak. It's 8-star rating here BARELY squeaked by. But regardless, you should still not miss this one.