Worst movie De Niro has ever been in!!

Rating: 3/10 (2 January 2010)

I wrote this review off-the-cuff..'please forgive' the spelling, grammar and English etiquette failings.
I've read the reasons Scorsese gave for filming in B&W but it took AWAY from some crucial scenes making the scenes one dimensional IMHO.
I also kept reading close to 100 reviews, print and internet, and it was all how this movie was so good they thought GOD himself wrote, directed and starred in all the spots. I was VERY VERY Disappointed.
De Nero just came off as a dumb fighter with only one way of fighting (get punched nearly to death in 15 rounds OR knock them out in 10 seconds of round one) They could have done fewer minutes of the pretend sex because it was so drawn out slow and painful. ALSO 'she's 15 years old'?? Who thinks that? I saw her as easily in the mid-late 20s. How many 15 year olds in the 1940s were that Tall and have breast enlargement surgery? Also, pouring a pitcher full of ice water down his pants to get UN-excited about the 25 year old 15 year old.. Was it common in the 1940's-1950's to just have a pitcher of ice water waiting in your bathroom at all times? I would have caught that ERROR in mere seconds, anyone else? I gave this a 3.0 because I think that is just enough to give credit for the time they took to make the scenes, and to make all those copies for the theaters across the country.
Pesci you could tell was holding back a lot. No one, brother or not, would have taken the verbal and physical abuse he did without dropping out of the scene far sooner. You could tell on Pesci's face how he was holding back.
Also, Scorsese must how given Di Nero one instruction for the entire movie 'Never smile, no matter when or what never smile and never act happy content or even felling okay'...and that made it hard to spend more than 2 hours. I caught myself wanting it to end after 20 minutes.
SPOILER SECTION:The XXXX scene of punching a brick wall a few dozen times AND busting his head against same brick wall. I expected to later see, or THEN, numerous excessive bloody shots. Doing that would force your knuckles through your skin after 10 or so punches easily. Hasn't anyone in anger ever punched wood? Notice how easily your knuckle skin breaks open and then the excessive pain? And the head butting? I recall being dumb playing tackle football with friends and our heads hit each other and this was ONE time, the pain was like a migraine for 3 days and the swelling...I was shocked and thought maybe I should visit the ER? I'm sorry but that 2 minute scene was so crazy laughable it hurt me.
In defense of De Niro. Robert De Niro in my opinion is by far the greatest film actor, past or present, ever to exist. Brando is a top 5 but De Niro just goes all out for the part, does dozens of retakes and is so convincing 'goodfells for example' I used to wonder how many real mafia men fought for his autograph and buy his diner. It's sad to see this movie but at beast it lowers his score for him that I hold from a 100 down to maybe 99.999, he could do 10 terrible movies and his personal rank wouldn't drop below 95, people I think this man is THE actor and only God knows what worthless job he'd been doing all these years if not for his career.