Shallow Ultraviolence and Slimy Characters. Overrated Movie

Rating: 4/10 (13 June 2006)

I suppose a lot of people found the characters in this film compelling and relatable on a basic human level. From what I saw, virtually all of the characters are low kinds of scum, always willing to betray one another and murder for kicks. The protagonist, played by Ray Liota, lacks the depth or redeeming characteristics that Cagney and Al Pacino's gangsters had. Liota's Henry Hill has very little that would make him seem like somebody to care about, because he's always willing to betray people and lie to save his own skin. When he gets his comeuppance, the viewer knows he richly deserves it, and will find no reason to take his side. His colleagues in crime, played by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, are equally irredeemable. The only decent qualities about De Niro and Liota is that they are not quick to condone random murder, as Pesci is always apt to do. The level of violence in this movie is gratuitous and disgusting. It does little to glamorize the life of crooks, and instead makes it seem like a low, loathsome venture.
This movie is full of violence and little in the way of decent themes, as virtually all the characters are too slimy to convey anything relatable to the viewer on a basic level, except that we sometimes betray others to save ourselves. The acting is decent, though not something to write home about. The plot is winding and tortuous, so pay very close attention if you want to understand the action. The plot actually seems secondary, more like a framework for a menagerie of blood-and-guts and gangster dialogue. I do enjoy movies that feature prominent ultra-violence, like "Robocop" and "Sin City," but those movies had deep characters and themes about morality that this movie does not explore. Watch it if you wish, but don't expect this to be the classic everyone seems to think it is.
PS: Listen for the phrase "you're busting my balls." Virtually all the main characters say it. You could play a drinking game with this movie for all the times the characters say that phrase. This likely inspired a scene in the TV series "South Park," where Cartman says this phrase to people who refuse his offer to buy aborted fetuses. Good times.