Brilliant But Flawed

Rating: Null/10 (2 January 2003)

I've read several reviews and Imdb comments on "Gangs of New York" and I'm exhausted --- seems like most want to make their submissions as long as the film. So, in the interest of brevity, I will just say(a) "Gangs" is a true epic in the tradition of "Once Upon a Time in America" and "The Godfather" trilogy; (b) The acting is excellent and Daniel Day-Lewis WILL receive an Academy Award; (c) Thought-provoking to say the least --- I will be doing some online research into the how accurately certain elements of New York's history are portrayed in this movie; (d) The camera angles and cinemagraphic techniques used in "Gangs" are innovative and ground-breaking, reminding me of Orson Welles' work on "Citizen Kane" (the CGI and matte work on this film are breathtaking); and (e) As with many great works of art, the flaws are glaring: major gaps in story-telling, especially within single scenes, coupled with what can only be described as "experimental" editing that sometimes simply does not work (in particular, the final showdown between Daniel D-L and DiCaprio). See this movie! It's not a masterpiece but it sure makes you appreciate what New York has gone through to make it the great city that it is today.