Good, not great.

Rating: 7/10 (26 December 2002)

Daniel Day-Lewis is magnificent. The cinematography is top notch. However the rest of Gangs of New York is pretty ordinary. It is certainly too long, by at least a half hour. I am sure they are proud of their work, but does every single crane shot have to be extended to show the entire set. There are many non essential scenes which linger on and detract from the meat of the story. I liked this movie, and even I was getting antsy as the plot creeped on.

It is a must see for any US History buffs, though anyone expecting a Godfather or even Goodfellas/Casino type experience will be disapointed. At the very best it is a good epic, and who remembers those?