OK movie, good acting, but Best Picture? No, and fizzles out at the end

Rating: 6/10 (12 July 2007)

This movie has good performances from many of the leads, especially Dicaprio and Nicholson, but it's no-where near a best picture. The last 10 minutes or so got pretty ridiculous considered how long the movie dragged on. Yes it's supposed to be an epic crime yarn, but let's just have one more main character whacked for good measure at the end to make it a bloody mess literally. It's convoluted poorly - the ending knocked it down a bit. This is not Good-Fellas which was a better movie with better characters and more interesting from the social point of supposed crime and gangsters. Instead of a crime drama, The Departed is in essence a double cat and mouse game that feels overlong. Anyway, editing might've done the movie well. The side plot romance also was too much of a plot device. Anyway, a bit disappointing. Finished review....now, Last year's Crash showed how fickle and utterly poor the Academy's selecting is...The Departed as Best Picture is further proof that the Academy are lemmings giving-way to political tendencies rather than merit. In hindsight after seeing most of the candidates, Letters from Iwo Jima probably had the most merit. Anyway, if you like any of the lead actors, maybe worth a viewing.