Great to see so many excellent Irish/British actors in a major film

Rating: 10/10 (12 January 2003)

One of the joys of watching Gangs of New York (and there were many joys)was spotting the large number of Irish and British character actors. Great to see such fantastic actors as Gary Lewis and Brendan Gleeson getting the exposure, and doing such a good job, alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent, David Hemmings, Alec McCowen, Liam Neeson (how good is he? dominating his all too brief 10 minutes) the collection of Anglo/Irish jobbing actors dominate, proving yet again that we've got the chops.
A fantastic cinematic experience. Yes Day-Lewis resembles Blutto from Popeye and comes across overblown and cartoonish - but he still pulls it off and creates one of the great screen villains.
In comparison Leonardo looks weak - but who wouldn't? Di Caprio still manages to carry the film, appearing in nearly every scene and remaining believable in most.
Great fun, great film-making, what Hollywood does best. Not Scorcesse's masterpiece (surely Taxi Driver takes that accolade) but worthy of Best Film/Best director/Best Actor (Day-Lewis) awards.