Nice, but overrated

Rating: 7/10 (6 November 2006)

The Departed's storyline is promising, the cast top notch and the names behind the film impressive. Yet the film does not quite meet the expectations I had of it. Somehow the characters never really grasped me, I felt no more sympathy for the good guys than the bad, and frankly, Nicholson sort of disappointed me. I just didn't believe him in this top criminal role, and the majority of his goons just were too flat and stereotype to lift this mobster flick above the average level, where films like the Godfather (the entire trilogy), Goodfellas et cetera seriously surpass that. Maybe it's a matter of a bit too much of everything, too little of one thing in particular. Good ingredients don't necessarily make a gourmet meal. The high rating in the top 250 surprises me, not often I feel so different about a flick's rating. Anyway, worth watching anyway, but don't expect too much.