One of the most overrated films of all time, but hey... when you got star power like this film had, who would dare say a bad thing about you?

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2011)

*Note: This film has too many big named actors for me to list them according to their roles. There is a such a plethora of characters in this film that they start to blur so I'm only going to refer to character names for ease sake. Actors you may recognize: DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin
Synopsis: In the beginning of the film we are introduced through montage and monologue to Frank Costello, the ruthless crime lord of South Boston. He preaches about power, grabbing life by the reigns, and about his general philosophy of the similarities between cops and criminals.
Next we are then thrown into another montage of Colin Sullivan and Billy Costigan, young cadets going through the police academy. After they graduate we see that Colin is a straight- A, climb the ranks kind of officer but also a double agent working for Frank. Billy on the other hand wants nothing more than to serve. However as a man whose family history is littered with low life criminals he is stuck feeling a bit out of place. Noticeably the black- sheep of his family Billy is given a super secret top mission to fail out the "Staties" and instead work undercover infiltrating Frank's gang. Billy thinks long and hard about his decision but in the end is persuaded by the father-like figure Captain Queenan.
After a 20 minute long intro, the movie begins as the two undercover operatives work on separate sides, doing their best to conceal their dual identities. In doing so there lives begin to morph and derange to the point they don't know if they're more cop or criminal.
The story is less to do with a singular event and more to do with when the two will be found out and gutted. There is a thing about some military microchips being sold to the Chinese but that story abruptly ends mid-movie. The driving force of the movie is more about how Colin and Billy must maneuver, bluff, and lie their way out of trouble. Both sides suspect a double agent among their ranks which increases the tension.
Madolyn is the on sight psychologist and while getting into a serious relationship with Colin she starts develop an attachment to Billy as their mandatory therapy sessions bring them closer.
Review: First of all this movie is almost 3 hours long! No movie should ever be that long unless it contains elements of fantasy or sci-fi. This film has so many stars and characters that instead of choosing who to focus on, Scorsese gives screen time to EVERYONE. It excessively gives moments of emotional development to Frank and Madolyn. Yes, Jack Nicholson plays a cool bad guy but he acts almost like a narrator spitting diatribe after another about cops, foreigners , and every other social intuition on the planet. Why in a movie that has to deal with identity and suspense is there so much "other stuff" added? There are themes about church, race relations, and about settling in your romantic life. All things that are great and interesting but simply should have been set aside for another movie.
The cinematography is nothing special and in fact can be distracting at times, best example is when Billy is being grilled by Wahlberg for his intent on making the force. The camera gets a little movement happy constantly closing in on heads while they talk. Although this film won for best editing I have to forcefully disagree with that recognition. The film is adequately edited but in no way is the editing outstanding. A well edited film has great pace, which this film struggles with in its entirety. It's a stop and go viewing experience with scenes ranging from a couple of seconds to five minutes. Maybe it was purposely done that way to keep the audiences awake, but you shouldn't have to sacrifice flow for attention. Otherwise you're simply shaking the viewer to pay attention instead of enrapturing them.
The acting is pretty good but none of the performances other than Wahlberg's is something new. DiCaprio mannerisms continues to be the same in almost everyone movie and only different thing about Matt Damon's performance is his accent.
The Departed is an American remake of the Hong Kong trilogy Infernal Affairs, which is probably why I am being harder on this film than usual. Also the premise of dual undercover characters has been done before the action film Face-Off so I don't understand all the buzz this film has gotten. Scorsese was a frontier shattering director and I loved his work in Raging Bull and Taxi Driver. However The Departed is far from ground breaking cinema and the clearest example I know of success by name.
Who this film is not for:
-People who don't like gangster/cop films
-People with short attention spans