It looks nice

Rating: 6/10 (16 October 2019)

Once upon a time in America is a very long movie about a set of very unlikable gangsters. It looks very good, it sounds very good and there are some very nice period set pieces.
There are also a lot of very nice scenes but a movie is not just a collection of scenes, especially a 4 hours long movie and this is where the movie falls apart.
If you are expecting a coherent and nicely executed story then too bad. The story telling is sloppy. Characters enter and exit the story on a whim. Character motivation changes whenever it suits the story if we are even lucky enough to get any. Add to that story elements that are just plain unbelievable or feel out of place and you end up with a strange mish mash of a story.
For a four hour movie this is a huge letdown. There are still plenty of things to enjoy and overall the movie was fine but it wasn't good.