An amazing film from start to finish

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2002)

After reading some of the early reviews I went into the movie not knowing what to expect. Some were raves, others were picking it apart, many insisted that Leonardo DiCaprio was poorly cast as the film's hero and couldn't hold his own against Daniel Day Lewis. After seeing it yesterday I'm in agreement with those who say this is a great film. It isn't perfect ... there were a few things that didn't resonate with me, one of which was the final confrontation between the two foes ... but overall I was impressed. The set, the performances ... all top notch, most notably that of the greatly maligned and under-appreciated DiCaprio. Day Lewis hams it up to the hilt with the aid of props - like a glass eye and a villain's greasy black handlebar mustache. He bombards the screen armed with showy lines and does a mean Robert DeNiro imitation at times ... but it's DiCaprio who creates a very convincing and very human hero ... a real, living, breathing human man. This is an actor who can effortlessly express the full range of emotion with little more than a look or a twitch of his face. He's at once hard and tender, conflicted and determined. He was everything we could have hoped for as Amsterdam and then some, and reaffirmed my belief that this is the best actor of his generation ... and possibly some other generations as well. It's easy to create a flashy villain - grade B actors can and do succeed in that endeavor. DiCaprio's job was more difficult - he had to create a fully dimensioned character with no props other than the dirty rags on his back and he carries it off with power and conviction. Gangs is a thrilling ride for all of its nearly 3 hours and never felt long or drawn out. I intend to see it - and enjoy it - again.