A Valiant Attempt

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2002)

I imagine that this was a really fine book and I imagine a rather long book as well. Hence the problem with this film. There is too much too tackle and not enough time. The result is a movie that has you wondering why some stuff was included and other stuff omitted. The movie itself is not bad, Scorscese is too talented to make a bad film. However, whereas "Goodfellas" tackled a long and detailed story completely, "Gangs" looks like it was butchered in the edit. Daniel Day Lewis is good and Diaz and DiCaprio are fair, but several of the other actors were never given a chance to develop at all. The sets are great and for a history buff, the movie hits the spot. However, as far as standard enjoyment pleasure, this one is lacking. Nice try, Marty.