Marvellous. Scorsese at his finest.

Rating: 10/10 (13 October 2006)

First he sets the characters and the world up so vividly, so interestingly and with such finesse. You watch him stack the dominoes side-by-side, wondering where he's going, what pattern he's making. And before you know it, he knocks one of them over and you watch the domino chain fall in the most exciting and elaborate way. The tension in this film just rises and rises - it's so incredibly well structured and paced. The film becomes exhilarating - a word I too rarely get to use to describe a film.
This is an instant classic - a definitive crime film. The cast is fantastic - what a great ensemble piece. Scorsese is the best thing that's ever happened to DiCaprio - he turned the guy into a real actor and this is his best role so far. Damon is great, Sheen, Wahlberg, Baldwin...excellent. Nicholson is very entertaining - sure, he hams it up a little - but it's so well done. The cinematography is at the same time very visceral and immediate, as well as cinematic - capturing the excellent setting of Boston in a very unique way.
Sure, I was expecting great things - but not this good. Scorsese knocked this out of the park. I couldn't give this anything but a 10/10. This is a film that people will be talking about fifty years from now.