HUGE disappointment

Rating: 5/10 (8 October 2006)

Never boring, but the actors are so wired, the dialog so colorlessly profane and the plot so thin you realize it's a puzzle where the pieces don't fit.
The most laughable scenes are Mark Wahlberg's at the beginning where he is taunting DiCaprio: it never leads anywhere and you don't know why he is doing it. Martin Sheen sits there doing nothing, either as an actor or a character.
The only female character (who isn't a whore) is part of a plot so predictable you wonder why they bothered it has so little payoff.
There are plenty of good moments, good violence and exciting chases. But the ending of the movie gets so cluttered, with so many twists, it undermines the original cat-and-mouse war between DiCarpio and Damon.
The movie makes you think it is building to this classic showdown, but strange plot diversions, endless double-crosses and lame exposition from secondary characters ruins the tension and you are left with violence as a substitute for suspense.
You have never seen so many great actors assembled for so little purpose and such mediocre results.
"Goodfellas" represents ensemble work at its best. "The Departed" is selfish solo work that allows all the actors to do what they do best...except realize they are in the same movie together.