Gets Much, Much Better As A Crime Drama Over The Years

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2019)

With an all-star cast, director Martin Scorsese has directed a tight, emotionally tense, stark crime drama. Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin produce powerful performances in this drama that depicts the psychological life and death interplay of two dueling characters each playing deep undercover on opposing sides of the dark streets of Boston. Thirteen years after my first review which resulted in a mediocre seven out of ten, this is a rare movie that has grown tremendously with a renewed sense of dramatic excitement as the riveting script and performances grip the audience. It is likely the difficult but terrifying ending was experienced many years ago as so unsettling that to negatively color the entire movie. But Boston is to be expected to be a tough town and along with it a tough movie to depict some hardened and strongly harsh performances. The only slight weakness is how Matt Damon's backstory develops while Leonardo DiCaprio seems to get a much more slighted development. Nevertheless from beginning to end, this hard-edged, gripping crime thriller hits the mark as one of the smartest crime movies as opposed to typical action packed, over the top thrillers.
31 October 2006. While I understand why many moviegoers may get a bang out of this movie and can convince themselves that this is a great movie with all these great actors, the execution of the movie still leaves something wanting. The beginning of this movie is awkward as the backstory of up and coming Colin Sullivan get special attention while the more down and out, perhaps even more integrity-based Billy Costigan gets secondary attention. The understanding of these characters are not convincing played out in the beginning but the eventual plot development into the tight corners is tense, intriguing and very well done. However by the end of the movie which is its major downfall is that the execution becomes murder, literally manipulative and too easy a way out for the scriptwriter and director. There isn't any of the more intellectually cool lingering on story that a more sophisticated and higher quality movie could have taken. The love romance also seems weakly developed in both instances and the real potential of a starker, more conflicted role is overlooked.
The director uses surprise shock value to attempt to impress its audience and push onto us a much more mechanical ending than a more deliberate, convoluted and psychologically satisfying resolution of the movie. The acting was great, the interplay and thrills were spectacular. Unfortunately, the final product ultimately unwound itself outside Oscar quality, except perhaps for several of the performances. Matt Damon, Leonado Dicaprio, Mark Walberg do really shine, nevertheless while Alec Baldwin is underperformed in the script. Seven out of Ten Stars.