Fall from grace.

Rating: 5/10 (11 October 2004)

Martin Scorcese is one of the most known and loved directors in the business, responsible for masterpieces such as "Goodfellas", "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull", he will always be remembered as one of the truly great. Unfortunately Scorcese's career and movie making has turned stagnant and "Gangs of New York" is proof of that.
First off, there's the actors. Leo DiCaprio is very pale in his role and looks somewhat distant, Diaz is unfortunately not very good either, Daniel Day-Lewis however plays off a remarkable performance as the bad guy.
Second, the pacing is slow and plodding. The first half of the movie was so slow and boring, mainly because of boring acting, that I had to watch it three times before I got through it, luckily the second half is better, not because acting improves but because more things happen.
Overall the story is neither very engaging, most because you don't feel anything for Di Caprio's character, Amsterdam.
Overall, Scorcese's "Gangs of New York" is a tired effort.
5/10