All-star cast and a truly captivating story.

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2007)

Set in Boston, it is a story about cops who may not really be cops and crooks that may not really be crooks, all compounding to confuse undercover investigations of a crime boss, Francis 'Frank' Costello, played expertly by Jack Nicholson.
Leonardo DiCaprio is Ofcr. William M. 'Billy' Costigan Jr., but he wants to do undercover work. So he is set up, imprisoned for a while, given a non-traceable ID, then works his way into the group that works with Costello.
Matt Damon is Det. SSgt. Colin Sullivan who, when he was but a young boy was given some advice and small jobs by Costello. An altar boy, Sullivan saw a different way for his life, and became a cop so that he could be an inside informant to Costello, to help keep his crime operations running smoothly.
Mark Wahlberg is the tough as nails Det. SSgt. Dignam who, along with Martin Sheen as Det. Capt. Oliver Queenan run the undercover work. Only they know who Costigan really is.
Ray Winstone, the fine British actor, is Mr. French, Costello's right-hand man.
Much of the movie is a cat-and-mouse game to see if Costigan can get enough goods on Costello to convict him and put him away, while Sullivan is trying to expose and get killed the undercover guy, who happens to be Costigan.
The only part of the movie that disappointed me was the end scenes, where several were shot point-blank in the head, executed, and the scenes were especially graphic. It seemed to coarse for the fine story-telling in the rest of the movie. Still, an above-average drama.