Not terrible, but massively over-hyped

Rating: 5/10 (26 October 2006)

For some reason, this movie seems to be getting praised left, right and center by both the critics and regular folks. I can't really see why, other than the fact that it's a Scorcese flick. But honestly, it's just not that great, and doesn't even compare to such previous Scorcese gems as Taxi Driver and Goodfellas.
There were things about it that I liked, such as the soundtrack, which was heavy on classic rock (with "Gimme Shelter" being used twice!); the hot therapist, who I could have ogled for a long time; and DiCaprio's performance, which was the latest in a string of great performances. But overall the movie seemed like a convoluted, confusing mess, which failed to engage me much beyond wondering when it'd be over.
I found the plot to be rather confusing, or at least, it took far too long for things to get going. I kept thinking to myself, "when is something going to happen?", and "am I missing something?". But in reality there just wasn't that much going on for large chunks of the film. In essence, it was just way too long.
Also, I thought that this movie couldn't really decide what it wanted to be. There certainly were a lot of comedic moments for a dramatic film, although I'm not sure how many of them were intentional. Either way, the audience was laughing out loud during many scenes. And if this was supposed to be a suspenseful film it failed miserably. By the two-hour mark I didn't care what was happening anymore, I just wanted it to end so I could go home.
Other than DiCaprio's performance, the other characters were fairly one-dimensional, with Jack Nicholson turning in a particularly uninspired performance. It must have been a nice payday though.
One of my friends liked this movie so much that he went and saw it twice, but there's no way I could sit through this convoluted mess again.
To sum up, it's not a terrible movie, but it is massively over-hyped. And you can forget about that elusive Oscar, it ain't gonna happen with this puppy.