At half the length, it would have been twice the film

Rating: 6/10 (17 April 2003)

*Spoilers*
Clocking in at an obese two hours and forty minutes, Gangs of New York is epic, sumptuous, confused and boring.
After an incredible opening scene (the battle between Daniel Day- Lewis and Liam Neeson's gangs) the whole film goes downhill, making its way from disappointing anti- climax to disappointing anti- climax. We have countless pointless subplots (the election, the civil war, the romance between Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz) on the way until DiCaprio finally does what he had APPARENTLY set out to do in the first place and kills Daniel Day Lewis.
DiCaprio and Diaz are dull, unsexy and unmemorable. The normally excellent Jim Broadbent, John C Reilly and Brendan Gleeson don't have enough time to shine. Day Lewis is the only redeeming performance, although it would have been much easier to take him seriously if he'd shaved that ridiculous moustache.
Martin Scorsese's direction is uncharacteristically flat and mechanical. There is a lack of sharp dialogue, dark humour and idiosyncratic characters normally seen in all his films. In short, Gangs of New York is a Martin Scorsese film that doesn't feel like a Martin Scorsese film.
6/10