Top-Notch Gangster Film - The Departed

Rating: 8/10 (21 October 2018)

Martin Scorcese is a Hollywood legend. He knows New York City. He knows Boston, and he knows gangsters. The script is outrageously good. The photography is outstanding. Everything in the movie was impeccable except the casting. And no, I am not going to say Pacino should have had Nicholson's role. Jack was just fine. I just think that the two roles of the leading men should have been switched. Damon is a tougher guy than Dicaprio. And Wahlberg is tougher than both of them; but he was cast perfectly. Dicaprio in a fight with Wahlberg? I don't think so. Dicaprio as a tough guy? Sorry, I'm not buying. Didnt buy him in Gangs in New York as a tough guy, either. Just like I never bought Mongomery Clift as a tough guy in From Here to Eternity or in The Young Lions. Seeing Dicaprio win a fight with anyone in a film gives me the same feeling as when I saw Clift win a fight with John Wayne in a Western. It just didnt convince my senses. Other than the switch in the lead roles, the film is almost perfect. (except for the love scenes with Dicaprio, which pretty much fall into the same category as the fight scenes. Please. Choosing Dicaprio over Damon. LOL. It was like watching Lily Tomlin in a love scene with John Travolta. Great film, though.