Not bad, but undisciplined, unoriginal and silly

Rating: 5/10 (13 May 2007)

Goodfellas was generally worthy of a best picture Oscar. Unfortunately it was released the same year as Dances With Wolves and lost out to it (rightfully so, to be honest, but only becayse Dances With Wolves was a rare masterpiece).
The Departed faced little competition the year it was released and Scorsese did deserve a best picture Oscar so this film seems to have been given that accolade, but probably didn't deserve it.
This is far from Scorsese's best work. There are a number of problems. First, this film was based on a foreign film called Infernal Affairs and in my view, the film really doesn't depart from the original much at all (if you'll forgive the pun). Ultimately this made the film easier to make and there's an obvious lack of originality at the end of the day.
Then there was the undisciplined Jack Nicholson. Somehow, it felt like they told Jack what the scene was generally about and let him improvise his entire dialog and acting. It was way too over-the-top and muddled the film's tone, even though it was fairly amusing. I think keeping him in check and 'directing' him properly would have made for a better film.
The fact that it borrowed some cinematic styling and even songs from Goodfellas and Casino, resulting in a bit of a recycled finish to the film.
In addition, there are some scripting issues and over-exaggerated portrayals, such as Marky Mark's crude and often stupid character. Similar for Alec Baldwin. It didn't add anything to film's depth and seemed contrived and overdone for the sake of contrast.
Di Caprio played the same old part he always plays and while some disagree, I don't rate him as a serious actor. Though Scorsese seems to like recasting him.
Matt Damon played his part well though.
The long winded, far-fetched twists and turns became ridiculous by the end. Not a film that one would bother re-watching in the years to come, unlike Scorcese's previous efforts.