Bloated....overly long....but decent

Rating: 5/10 (10 October 2006)

I do not understand some of the raves about this movie. It was simply an average to slightly above average 90 minute thriller stretched into 140 (or thereabouts) minutes.
The premise was sort of astonishingly unbelievable. Nicholson's character is a street wise gangster....who for reasons not really clear takes on a crew member who had just completed (or nearly completed) the State Police academy. "I am not a cop...honest" seems to be all he needs to say in order to go DEEP undercover in the Boston underworld. Right. There is no "trial period".....immediately this ex-cop turned gangster is made privy to the gang's most critical secrets, including murders and assorted other felonies. THEN, when it soon becomes apparent that there is an informer in their midst, they are unable to focus in on the obvious suspect. In addition, despite having irrefutable evidence of crimes that would put Nicholson's character UNDER the jail for 300 years, that is not enough for them to move forward with arrests and prosecutions...???? The movie also seriously drags in many places, like the ridiculous relationship with the police psychiatrist. The ending is completely unimaginative, and actually was sort of a surprise because it was so predictable. I was expecting at least some sort of a plot twist to be revealed. Wrong.
This movie might be worth watching on DVD if you have no other good choices, but don't waste your money at the theater.