Good movie for one that's just a REMAKE but far far from Scorcese's best...

Rating: Null/10 (20 July 2007)

Scorcese is a legend as a filmmaker, anyone who is a true movie fan can agree with that. Movies like Mean streets, Taxidriver, Raging Bull and even the underrated After Hours know these are masterpieces of storytelling and film-making technique.
So after been disappointed by Bringing out the Dead, Gangs of New York and even The Aviator, it was nice to see The Departed come to life with such buzz and energy. It kept me on the edge of my seat, the performances were really good, even Jack was good at being Jack as we all know, the soundtrack pulsated with a couple of cool Oirish tunes (thank goodness no U2!).
The ending was also a punch in the gut. On the negative side, because one expects more with a Scorsese movie and one that cost 80 million dollars and is a remake, the script felt a little contrived, especially the romantic triangle, and also Matt Damon's character acts really stupid and was so dumb near the end. Won't spoil but you just think, if he had a brain, he would never do that (hint:the citizen's letter)
Overall a good movie but not a great movie, its edited fast and moves along briskly for its 140 minutes, so enjoy but don't expect it to be vintage Scorsese, I think those days are long gone.