Needs editing--sorry fans!

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2020)

I am aware that those who rave over Once Upon a Time in America will find my gentle reproach a clear sign of the ignorance of philistines. But let us be perfectly frank: many of the scenes are larded with fat which could easily have been cut, increasing the pace and even leaving space to set up the surprise ending rather than dropping it in like (the filmmaker´s cardinal sin) a deus ex machina.
The scenes of the youngsters in New York City evoke immediate memories of The Godfather, part 2, but that comparison did not help but harmed this viewer´s reception of Leone´s alleged chef d´oeuvre, because similar scenes in Coppola´s work are so much better plotted and paced. The true accomplishment of this work is to persuade viewers to sympathize and identify with murderers and rapists--pretty impressive that we find ourselves not hating but liking the main characters at the end. Both Robert DeNiro and James Woods gave excellent performances.
I do not have a problem with extra-long films, if there is a reason for their length (Lawrence of Arabia, Apocalypse Now...). As far as I am concerned, the surest sign that Once Upon a Time in America is not a bona fide masterpiece is that I had to watch it over three nights to get through it. Good, but not great.