A very good mobster film...

Rating: 8/10 (10 August 2007)

'GoodFellas' is an interesting piece. It has the mobster-romance of Godfather and the gritty reality of Scarface all in one. Yet, it is perhaps less than the sum of all its parts. Mob-films aren't typically cheery or uplifting but keeping a safe-zone where the audience isn't too bothered by all the evil things going on screen is something I really missed and something which I think The Godfather succeeded much better in accomplishing.
On its own the film is none the less fantastic. It feels like a twisted kind of reality where you're not exactly sure what's real and what's not. Perhaps I get a little squeamish when drugs become an element in the story but that might be just me. There is a great deal of irony in the film but it lacks the likability of The Godfather.
On the whole that might not be a fair comparison as Coppola's films made up a saga where as this had to wrap the mobster tale in one movie. It's definitely a great film for fans of mobster films, but not a master-piece and way too gory and bleak. On the whole I thought the performances were, none-the-less, great. Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci are amongst my favorite actors and each deliver a brilliant character to the screen.