Star-Studded to the MAX

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2008)

The Departed
By Daniel Rosado
Directed: Martin Scorcese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Anderson, Kevin Corrigan
4out of 5 stars
The Departed is about two cops on opposite sides of a battle between the police and Irish Mafia. Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio star as cops in this star studded movie. Jack Nicholson puts on a memorable performance as Costello, and one of my more favorable performances by Mark Wahlberg.
In the film there are two cops, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) and William Costigan Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio). Sullivan is a cop that rose quickly through the ranks, but he's secretly working for Costello (Jack Nicholson), the head of the Irish mob. His job, as a cop, is to bring down Costello, and try to find Costello's "rat" in the police department. Sullivan is careful to make sure no one realizes his true alliance, and he also makes sure Costello is always one step ahead of the cops.
Costigan is sort of in a similar situation, but very different. Officers Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) and Queenan (Martin Sheen), think that Costigan is a thug, because of his father's past. In order to prove his allegiance with the police, he has to give up his identity, and go undercover, working for Costello, and getting whatever info he can get from him.
The Departed is a good movie that keeps you thinking, "What's going to happen next?" You know that eventually everyone's going to figure out whom Costigan and Sullivan are really working for, but you want to know how is it going to happen. You also wonder what it's going to be like when they encounter each other.
The Departed had so many great things going for it. Its cast full of great actors, from past movies or shows. They were considered some of the best actors throughout their careers. The score that was playing during The Departed was perfect. They couldn't have possibly had better music for the movie. Especially the Irish rock song, I'm shipping off to Boston, by: The Dropkick Murphys.
Overall The Departed was a good movie, at times I was a little bored waiting for something exciting to happen, but when there was action, it did more than make up for the boring parts.