One of the best films this year, despite a couple of flaws.

Rating: 9/10 (8 October 2006)

Acting: Top notch. Everyone involved gives a top caliber performance and, let me just say, it's so good to see Nicholson being the crazy badass we all know and love again. Even though Baldwin doesn't have much screen time, he steals the show with almost all of his lines.
Dialogue: I cracked up more than once, and I felt myself barely breathing the rest of the time. It went from darkly humorous to riveting in a flash, and did so brilliantly.
Story: I gasped more than once during the ending, if that's any inclination. This movie's long, but it more than held my interest the entire time so I'm not complaining.
So why didn't I give The Departed a ten? It was held back from true greatness by shoddy editing (I noticed at least ten inconsistencies, and I'm sure there were more that I missed since I was so entertained) and a very serious flow problem. It jumped from scene to scene so quickly that I found myself confused a decent part of the time, especially in the beginning, and a good portion of scenes were completely useless. For example, there's a one minute long scene of Nicholson's character throwing crack on a bed and telling a hooker to snort it 'till she's numb that comes out of nowhere, and disappears just as quickly. You could say it was to show how screwed up his character was but, trust me, there was plenty of whacked out crap to serve as proof of the villain's madness, so the scene was useless.
Despite its flaws, though, it shouldn't be missed. Scorsese does it again with this brutal, dark caper that keeps you guessing up until the end. You'll laugh, you'll jump, and you'll have to pick your jaw up off the floor. There's one scene in particular, centering around a cell phone 'conversation' in which nothing is said and both characters stare at the phone, simply thinking. If the actors weren't as brilliant as they are, it'd be a waste, but their talent lets you practically be able to read their minds. Simply brilliant.
If you're a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Martin Scorsese, Martin Sheen, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg or Alec Baldwin, GO SEE THIS MOVIE.