An average mob movie that can't hold a candle to Goodfellas, The Godfather, Scarface and other true masterpieces.

Rating: 4/10 (4 March 2007)

I was greatly disappointed in The Departed, which I feel was overrated and does not stand up to other Martin Scorsese masterpieces such as those mentioned in the summary as well as other classics such as Raging Bull, The Color of Money, Taxi Driver and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Compared to those movie giants, The Departed meanders annoyingly, and the only reason I can see for awarding Mr. Scorsese an Oscar for direction is to acknowledge his ability to direct such actors of stature through a film with essentially no script; but, even so, someone of Martin Scorsese's talent should have been able to do a better job, or have the judgment to pass on the script, which was adapted by William Monahan from the 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs, written by by Felix Chong and Siu Fai Mak, and in the opinion of some was superior to Mr. Monahan's screenplay. While the plot had possibilities, they were not realized. Each of the performances delivered were in themselves excellent, but the the plot and progression of events just were not presented in a way that pulls the viewer in the way other Scorsese films have done. So, it is an "ok" film, but not, in my opinion close to being Oscar-worthy. Mr. Scorsese is a brilliant director and deserves an Academy Award for the aforementioned films, but in this viewer's opinion, not for this one.