good film but could have been better

Rating: Null/10 (11 February 2003)

i really enjoyed the opening sequence of gangs of new york plenty of action and some great fight scenes and dialogue. in my opinion i think it should have focused more on the actual rivalry between the gangs instead of flirting between the war which i know was relevant at the time it was set but it seemed to detract from the main theme of the film (gangs) the only time i think the war should have been relevant to the film is when the irish was arriving and they were being conscripted into the army, i would also have liked to have seen the irish trying to recruit some of the men as they were leaving their boats to join them in thier fight against the natives. I was looking forward to the big fight at the end which i think would have been much better if the ships hadnt started firing the cannons and broke up the big fight it all seemed such an anti-climax to the film which was a shame because it could have been so much better.