Tiring...very, very tiring.

Rating: 5/10 (9 June 2013)

"Gangs of New York" is a spectacle--with amazing scenery, stunts and special effects. However, it's also a very tough film to like and of all the phrases I could use to describe it, 'feel good' is probably the last. I found it thoroughly unpleasant but spectacular.
The film concerns a vendetta between one annoying person (Leonardo DiCaprio) and another even more annoying and unlikable person (Daniel Day-Lewis). Lots of screaming, stabbing, killing and nastiness occurs until ultimately (and thankfully) the film ends.
I know my summary above is ridiculously short and vague--but so were the characters. There was little depth, often their behaviors made little sense (why didn't DiCaprio's character kill his enemy early on in the film? Why, exactly, did 'the Butcher' spare his enemy--he had to know he would come back to kill him!) and they were collectively about as likable as a case of VD. And, because the film is about three hours long, I found it tough to stick with this one. While the film is directed well, it's just depressing and awful throughout. Not pleasant and the sort of film I could do without.