Yikes!

Rating: 2/10 (23 December 2002)

I don't know if I am being a huge film snob, but I thought that everything was wrong with this movie. What could have been an incredible epic turned into a disaster. The costuming, cinematography and acting by Daniel Day Lewis was superb, but everything else seemed to be a half-assed effort. The plot line was cliched and trite, people's accents fell in and out, the love affair between Diaz and DiCaprio was improbable and awkward (she professes her love for him after meeting him two times), and the score at times felt anachronistic and downright comical. At one point Daniel Day Lewis' character appears to address the audience directly. Everyone I was with was thoroughly confused.
I am a devout Scorcese fan but this saddened me because this is just not a good movie. I am not a priss, but the battle scenes were unnecessarily gory, even sliding into blood squirting slasher-like effects towards the end. The historical aspect of the story could well have been interesting, but it was not explored. And one would certainly find difficulty understanding the ties between the final battle and the rioting occuring elsewhere in NY towards the end of the movie. Were they tied together, was it coincidence? I have no idea. I expected much more and was throughly dissapointed.