A gritty, violent gangster tale of murky morality and questionable loyalties.

Rating: 8/10 (8 February 2016)

Directed by Martin Scorcese, this gritty, violent gangster tale of murky morality and questionable loyalties features a string of powerful performances from a great cast.
Of course, Scorcese is in familiar territory, but his cast give the film an unexpected freshness and vitality. Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio are the two leads playing a game of cat and mouse, and both are convincing. Jack Nicholson is devilishness personified as the films central gangster and he chews up every piece of scenery in sight with great relish. Mark Wahlberg also has great fun with his excessively obscene dialogue. However, for this viewer, it was Damon's performance, his quiet scheming and increasing panic as his plans unravelled that took the film to a level higher than that of simply being a good gangster yarn.
It's not a film to brighten your day, but it's well made and convincing. Cope with the language and violence associated with a typical Scorcese gangster tale, and it's whopping 151 minutes will pass by in a relative flash.