One critic said breathtaking... He wasn't kidding. (potential spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (1 January 2003)

There are films out there that are so intense that it's like a pit bull grabbing at your neck and swinging you around. The entire third act of this film did just that for me. I was sitting there and this intense feeling overtook me while watching. Part of it is that there is just something in my brain that reacts so much more tensely when the violence before me is being dealt out with large crude blades. I will however admit that some scenes found me just slightly confused... so I'm going to go ahead and work this out loud for anyone who cares to read this character analysis. DiCaprio (Here on out to be referred to as Vallon.) is the son of an obvious man of God. He is brought up to believe in the saints and what they did (St. Michael in particular.) And before the final battle of the film, Vallon is seen praying to God. This may or may not contrast actions taken by him earlier in the film... Vallon immediately throws a bible into a river soon after it was given to him, and tells a priest to go to hell later on when the priest invites him into his congregation. That being said, at first I wondered... Why would Vallon pray to a God he seems to scorn? But at the same time, I also took into consideration that Vallon goes through hell and back by way of a beating distributed by Butcher, that maybe he is humbled by the experience, and thusly returns to his childhood faith. So ultimately I dismiss what seemed at first to be a character flaw. I believe this movie deserves the critical acclaim it has received. There are a lot of films out there that take the time to ruthlessly gut the hell out of everyone onscreen, but there's no emotion involved. You don't care about the loved ones of the victims. This is a movie that made me care. Seeing a son watch his father get dealt death's final blow all the while looking his father's nemesis in the eyes two feet away. I found that extremely emotional. That was just the beginning of the film. The rest of the film is just as involving and never lets up. I give 'Gangs' an A.