Daniel Day-Lewis saves a rather weak plot...

Rating: Null/10 (29 July 2003)

..."Gangs of New York" stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallon, an Irish gangster returning to 1800s New York to kill his father's killer, Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis). Once there, he starts liking Bill and falls in love with thief Jenny (Cameron Diaz). Unfortunately, this story has been done many times before.
Of course, just because a story isn't new it doesn't mean it will be a bad movie. Bill the Butcher is a truly original character who Day-Lewis plays with supreme excellence. Bill is passionate but evil, suave but sinister. Day-Lewis overplays DiCaprio so much it's funny. I can just see DiCaprio whining to Mr. Scorcese about how "Bill gets more screen time than me!"
"Gangs of New York" is a great drama to say the least, 8/10.