Good film, but not great.

Rating: 8/10 (28 January 2003)

*Some minor spoilers*
I enjoyed this but found a few areas of the story lacked. It all happened very quickly at first and then I found it dragged for a while before picking up towards the end. I was surprised at how quickly Amsterdam became close to the Butcher, it didn't seem convincing that he could do it so quickly. There were other areas but overall it does not spoil the story. Lewis gives a great performance and I found myself sympathising with both of the main characters, even though Lewis plays a ruthless gang leader, De-caprio gives a solid performance. I felt that De-Caprio's character was slightly let down by a script that seemed to give Lewis to strong a role relative to De-Caprio, the balance didn't seem quite right, not sure on that one. Diaz is good to, this is a long way from Charlie's Angels and The Mask. The action scenes were well done, very much in the way that many newer war films are done with plenty of 'realism' (i.e gore). The music is excellent during the battle scenes but outside of these scenes the music is hardly used or no where nearly as good. The settings and sets are superb and credit must go to those who created them as they look stunning.
I often look back on a film and if I can remember the majority of what happened it usually means it was a favourite but with this I don't think its up their with the best, it is not far behind. You just find yourself thinking a little bit more and it could have been one of his best, up there with Taxi Driver e.t.c..Maybe its to long and he tried to hard. All in I give it 8/10, worth the trip, but might not be for everyone.