Brilliant...but be very awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed!!

Rating: 7/10 (18 March 2007)

It goes without saying that this is another piece of Scorcese excellence, however I made the idiotic mistake of watching it when I was tired and probably should have been in bed. A big mistake - you'll want to watch this when you're totally focused and enthusiastic, otherwise you'll have trouble piecing it all together and following the plot. I won't go into the story on this one; instead I'll give rundown of the actors' performances - and this is something anybody considering watching this flick will want to know given the celebrated A-List cast assembled. I have never been a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio. (His performance in "The Basketball Diaries" was flawless. Other than that, he's been very ordinary). However, after watching "The Departed" I had to humble myself and admit that his delivery in this flick was nothing short of brilliant! He and Jack Nicholson carried this film, if no one else. And, in a way, this is a shame when you compare it to the other somewhat bland performances by the other cast. This is what upsets the movie and makes it seem disjointed, thus becoming a distracting factor in an otherwise brilliant film. Jack Nicholson doesn't seem to need to make any effort in his acting technique - he pulls it off each time. His performance is incredibly focused and well timed, with that trademark edge of demented deviance he brings to almost all his characters. I've ALWAYS been a Matt Damon fan. However - and I hate to admit it - but his performance here was almost wooden. I don't think it was a role he fully submitted to. Again, like a small handful of his other performances, he was playing 'Matt Damon'. You can detect a touch of self-consciousness in his delivery. However, this won't deter a lot of Damon's fans. Mark Wahlberg's arrogant cop was just passable, however I could see a touch of his 'Dirk Diggler' from "Boogie Nights" in the way he delivered his dialogue. In a documentary from the accompanying Special Features disc, he mentions that he was playing the type of cop who used to arrest him when he himself was a teen. And this seems to be precisely what he does: he imitates someone else, rather than putting his own interpretation on the role. A pity, since Wahlberg is actually a great actor. In a relatively small role, Alec Baldwin is actually outstanding. This might be the role which may reprise his career after all! Martin Sheen - do I need to comment? This guy is brilliant no matter what he does. A very focused performance.
All in all, this film is incredibly well done, in true Scorcese style. A few continuity errors and audio overdubs/lip-synch changes are present, however, once immersed in the entertainment, viewers will be happy to dismiss these. (Or, perhaps, those who know and expect perfection from Scorsese may be somewhat shocked by these minor, yet mildly distracting errors.) Still highly recommended to any Scorcese fan or fans of the cast. Definitely worth the two and a half hours.
SPOILER: A lot of the film's bung-ups have been mentioned already in full list, however one that I haven't yet seen is the audio overdub of Matt Damon's voice when he is asking his informants over the phone what fell off the building. His actually asks what fell off the 'roof', however the audio says, 'building'. The second time he asks the same question, both his mouth and audio deliver 'roof'.