Ridiculously overrated - minor spoilers

Rating: 5/10 (15 March 2007)

It is totally beyond me, what people find excellent in this movie. It is way too long and the acting is mostly adequate but by no means great. All characters are more caricatures who spout clichéd dialog than real people. And no: Its not only Nicholson, who goes way over the top. The screenplay is the main offender, though: There is no real character development (a bit whining by DeCaprio and a mumbled, half-hearted desire for "a clean slate" by Damon are no more than lip-service). And the end of the film - everything after Costello's death - is a complete mess, with plot holes as big as Nicholson's "marital aid" in the movie theater scene (why goes Costigan on the run, after he discovers who Sullivan is. Wouldn't it be easier to just tell Dignam or the Baldwin character?), and sloppy story-telling (for instant: what about the letter, Costigan gives the shrink?). Then there is the pace of the thing: I'm by no means a fan of MTV-Style editing and I hate most of Tony Scott's movies, but this thing is not only slooooow moving - it is without a real rhythm. Some things are terribly rushed and others are explained in painstakingly, boring detail.Very strange for a seasoned pro like Scorsese. Don't get me wrong: "Departed" is not a bad movie, it just isn't great (and definitively not Oscar-worthy) but merely mildly interesting.