Potential Does Not Make for a Good Movie

Rating: Null/10 (26 June 2013)

"Taxi Driver" is a prime example of a director who quite simply doesn't have the talent to meet his ambitions. "Taxi Driver" is bland, boring, and careless filmmaking at its finest and represents the many problems that plague all Scorsese films.
The most disappointing aspect is the writing, which fails to give the characters any depth or dimension. The story is chock-full of clichés, and doesn't even attempt a logical or coherent narrative. Not only does this frustrate the audience, but it leaves the movie with some awful performances from De Niro and Foster respectively. It's truly remarkable how either one of these actors received any offers after the release of this movie.
But that is not to say that the writing and acting is the only thing to blame. Scorsese's direction is often sporadic and doesn't quite fit the tone this kind of movie needs. Thanks to his careless directing, the film drifts into melodrama a few times too many.
At the hands of another director and a rewrite or two, Taxi Driver could have been an enjoyable film. Unfortunately, that is not the case and we're left with an awful movie that fails to meet any of its potential.