Good, but could have been better

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2006)

The trouble with watching a Scorsese film is that your expectations shoot up tremendously. So you do not expect the movie to be good, but you expect it to be brilliant. But here lies the problem...The Departed falls short of being called a great movie. Its good, story is brilliant (had to be as it was based on a superb script of 'Infernal Affairs'), actors are very convincing as well, dialogues crisp, scenes and situations well thought out..hey, u would be wondering then where did it lack...this question is troubling me as well...why did I not enjoy this movie as much as say a 'Goodfella'?...what was it that this movie lacks? I do not have a very clear answer for that..but my guess is that probably it is a combination of many factors..Too many characters..too many co-incidences...and I feel there should have been more time spent on building up the characters..showing more of their childhood events...I have always felt that by doing so, you can grab the audience attention very well..here it was just 1 minute sequences shown here and there...nothing that can hook up the audience...
But hey it still is a good movie...DiCaprio has really matured (and this performance should finally answer his critics for good), Nicholson is Nicholson..always in his own zone...and a surprise package in the form of Mark Wahlberg..a very good performance...probably his best performance yet.... So do watch this movie...you definitely will like it...but do not have expectations of a movie which is in top 100 of the IMDb 250 list...:)