Academy Award Winner of Best Picture for a reason

Rating: 10/10 (21 June 2007)

When I went to see The Departed, I was left with a feeling I very rarely have after watching a movie. I usually either feel satisfaction or disappointment, but The Departed left me craving. I wanted more! I did not want the film to be over! There is never a dull moment in this film! I really do not care if some people feel it is a copy-cat film of the Chinease movie "Internal Affairs". I absolutely love this movie and I am glad so many people enjoy it as much as I do.
Martin Scorsese is able to somehow grab a certain story from real life and just turn it into an unbelievably good movie. He does that here. He is able to take the terms and lifestyles used in an original historical Boston setting and incorporate them into this film. The story itself is terrific. It focuses on the part of two "undercover" agents working against each other! One is a police officer inside a Boston mob organization and one is a member of that organization inside the police force. The entire story sets up nicely and builds up to a huge climatic point where to put it simply, "the $hit hits the fan!" The filming of this movie is fantastic! Every scene looks perfect! There is plenty of action in this film and a lot of humor. There is never a point of boredom or uneasiness! The movie flows so perfectly that you can follow it easily! If I were to put this film into a genre, it would be a mixture of a comedy/action/drama/suspense/thriller.
The casting in this movie is self-explanatory. Just look at the names; DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, Wahlberg, Winstone, M. Sheen, and Baldwin. Everyone plays their hearts out! DiCaprio and Damon are good in their two lead roles. Nicholson was up for an Oscar Nomination for his role which is fantastic! He plays the stylish and dangerous mob boss Frank Costello. Alec Baldwin is pretty darn funny, he plays the head of a special investigation unit of the police department! But the best actor in this film is without a doubt, Mark Wahlberg. He got an academy award nomination for best supporting actor for his character, Dignam! He stole every scene he was in! He was extremely funny and serious at the same time. A terrific performance on his part. All the actors in this film feed off of one another brilliantly. You can pick out the intensity they have when they are shooting this film. It is phenomenal! And although the actors do a great job in their roles, the characters created for them are perfect! Every character created for this film has an important part and they all do something memorable for this film. Everything about the actors and the characters in this film rocked!
I love Martin Scorsese and I truly believe, in my own opinion, this is his best film. I know it is my favorite but I think it may also be his best. This film has everything a good movie needs! Yes, you can expect violence and a lot of vulgar language, but it is worth it! The vulgarity in my opinion only adds to the intensity of the film. I truly believe everyone should see this movie. It may seem long at 2 and half hours but it is worth it. If you (the previewer) does watch this film, I hope you gain the same respect for it I have. Because 30 years from now, people will still remember this movie and those people will remember how fantastic it was.