somehow unoriginal

Rating: 5/10 (20 August 2005)

Well everyone's telling it and I hadn't tried it once, not even in cable. So here's my two cents worth of it.
Ray Liotta plays an Italian-Irish boy obsessed with becoming a gangster. While seemingly getting close to a certain "main man" in the streets, his dreams suddenly became a reality, getting friends with two gangsters, all the money, a wife and kids, even girls, fame and fortune, all that he wanted to be...until things gone haywire.
I know Scorcese is a great director, but this movie seemed like a Raging Bull reunion with Pesci and De Niro, not to mention De Niro being worn out as a Mafia/local gangster in his role, and Pesci uncontrollable in his role that I can't seem to understand he began and end up that way. If I was a gangster, I never would had liked that guy to be met in the first place...and how did Liotta get close to him? The cinematography is too much pizazz by the 90's edge that it end up being boring in, like, more than 2 hours of it (the way Scorcese make his movies these days). Too complicated idea that Liotta's role end up seeking witness protection against his "friends". The only thing I was impressed is Paul Sorvino's role.
I think Scorcese is starting to diminish his quality movie-making and style with this movie, focusing more on popularity of stars and movie length rather than a stylish, good story movie. I had much fun better watching Taxi Driver, King Of Comedy, Last Temptation of Christ, and my favorite, Raging Bull. I'm sorry for the negative criticisms on this famous movie, but that's how I see it in an unbiased way. Although Pileggi initially wrote the novel good, he edited it with boggleness for the movie, which, err, hadn't got better.