Scorsese does it again

Rating: 10/10 (12 January 2016)

'The Departed' is an American crime-thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese ('Taxi Driver', 'Good Fellas'). The film gives us a poignant look at a fictional war on drugs fought by the Boston Police Department against an Irish-rooted mob led by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), with his protégé, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) helping him from the inside of the police force while Billy Costigan (Leonardo Di Caprio) helps the police department by infiltrating Costello's mob.
The story takes place in Boston, following the lives of Billy Costigan, an undercover cop of the Boston Police Department, who is at a crossroads in his life, having just lost all close relatives and with no clear direction in his life, as he infiltrates Costello's mob, and Colin Sullivan, who from a very young age has been the protégé of Costello and who now works for the Boston Police Department, providing Frank with information. As the story unfolds, we see the consequences the characters have to deal with by leading a double life. We watch them as they blur the lines of what's right or wrong, and we get to see just how far they are willing to go to protect what they've built, and to get what they want.
In typical Scorsese fashion, the director dwells into the moral aspect of their characters, exploring the kind side of the villain and the dark side of the heroes. The cast is on point through-out all the movie, with the performances by Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg being particularly fascinating.
One of the strongest points of the film it's is pace, with the story developing in a fast-pace, leaving no dead-time on screen for the viewer to lose attention. One major critic of the film is that it doesn't follow the original, Infernal Affairs, too closely. While this may be true to some extent, it could very well be attributed to the fact that the original is a three-part saga; it's a given that some of the story it's bound to be lost in the process of condensing three movies into one.
While it released more than twenty years into the career of director Scorsese, 'The Departed' is a solid film, with a story that will keep you at the edge of your seat, that's going to keep you guessing as of what's going to happen next. If you're in the mood for a film with a fast-paced, thrilling story, fleshed-out characters and superb acting, then 'The Departed' is a must-see.