Not one of Scorsese's masterpieces

Rating: Null/10 (20 September 2000)

I didn't think Taxi Driver was as brilliant as it was made out to be.I had geat expectations of this film,as other teamings of Scorsese and De Niro such as Goodfellas,Raging Bull and Casino had been cinematic masterpieces,so obviously I thought this would be right up there with them.However,it just seemed to be a little empty.The storyline was a clich'e.The old 'Loner gets sick and tired of crime so he decides to clean up the streets'theme is something I would expect of a 'Death Wish' movie but not a Scorsese film.
There are many unanswered questions,like where does Travis go after the end of the picture?Back to life as normal?That is what is indicated,but it seems a little hard to believe after the events midway to the end.And we never really know why Travis decides to turn vigilante.We know he hates the 'scum' on the streets but we never learn why he takes the huge step of devoting his life to killing them.
The music in the film does not live up to its reputation.I have read in film reviews that Bernard Herrmann's score is"chilling" but it is nothing more than saxaphone music that sounds like a love theme from countless other films. The always fantastic De Niro is brilliant in his role,but his character would be more believable if he was more'depressed'.Here we have a guy that is generally a loser.He really doesn't have a life,lives day to day with little change, makes little money,and in the end,finds he has no reason to live.But he isn't totally convincing that he is depressed enough to want to commit suicide.
Taxi Driver does have its brilliant moments,but the film as a whole doesn't qualify as one of Scorsese's masterpieces.