Nowhere near the resonance of his earlier work

Rating: 5/10 (11 October 2006)

I find it amazing that people actually give this piece credibility. I am a massive Scorcese fan, his earlier films were classics, but this is vacuous and dull, and haven't we all seen this kind of thing so many times before? Am I really expected to be shocked by the corruption of police? Goodfellas was a landmark piece with pace and involvement and memorable characters, this doesn't come near.
I'm afraid to say that it seems M.S. has lost his way. This is repetitive easy fare. Looks like he directed this in his sleep. No surprises, no depth of character anywhere and Jack Nicholson doing what he always does. Of course it was well shot with good pace, but with this cast you expect something better. An irritating story, an avalanche of swear words that are debased by their familiarity, and characters you don't care about.