Just another cop movie

Rating: 5/10 (4 October 2006)

If you're looking for a good enough, but too long cop movie, THE DEPARTED is a good bet. If you're looking for a masterpiece, move on, because you won't find one. If it weren't for Scorsese's name on the credits no-one would be looking for one either, so you could say it starts off at a disadvantage. This is solid studio formula film-making, trying to give the illusion of substance by overloading the cast.
In story terms it's a good premise with some good scenes that don't really compensate for the weak spots. It's at its best when De Caprio or Wahlberg are on screen, and at it's very worst when Sheen and Nicholson are centre-stage. Both elder statesmen turn in over the top cartoons that just stop the film dead for a bit of grandstanding. The rest of the cast vary, but Ray Winstone really should find a new ac, because his tough guy act is almost as much self-parody as Nicholson's scary monster mobster.
Don't expect too much, and you'll probably feel satisfied. Just don't go looking for something this film isn't. It's just another studio picture that wants to be a blockbuster more than it wants to be a really good film.