Scorsese's Best Directing Oscar... Finally...

Rating: 9/10 (8 October 2006)

This was an intense, off the edge of your seat, runaway train of pure excitement about two police officers; one molded by the Irish mob (Damon) to be an inside probe in the police department and the other was molded by the police department (DiCaprio) to be an undercover in the same Irish mob.
The Irish mob was led by the extraordinary Jack Nicholson in one of his best performances since "As Good As It Gets." Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon both give great performances, as the stressed out, under appreciated police officers, playing opposite sides of the law and trying to do their jobs to satisfy the powers that be.
However, it was Scorcese's directing that brought this complex piece about the philosophies behind modern crime, the law and police corruption, that takes this piece to the next level. This has to be his best work since "Goodfellas" and I'm hoping that he receives a long, overdue Academy Award for Best Director.
The only reason why the film doesn't get a ten from me is because I had issues with the ending. I won't give it away. However, in my humble opinion, it was too easy for the characters played by Damon, DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg, and it's contrivance eerily reflects the assumed angst by the writers to end a screenplay to a magnificently crafted, complex story. I'm sure the original film was the same way, so I'm critiquing the filmmakers behind "Infernal Affairs" for this as well.
Nevertheless, it's still the best film I had seen all year thus far.