Three long hours of unnecessary scenes.

Rating: 6/10 (30 November 2019)

Martin Scorsese had made most of my favorite films in this genre. However, this isn't one. Not even close. I watched it at the cinema and felt it probably could have been done in half the time. There's a lot of unnecessary plot elements. They focus too much on secondary characters so we can empathize with them, without much success. The family relationship had a lot of potential as there's clearly an interest in exploring the father-daughter approach but it barely scratches the surface. De Niro's character is dull and senseless, feels the same way throughout the story. He doesn't show the complexity of someone struggling between being a family man, a close friend and some mob big shot. It's a character that simply knows how to follow orders and never experience any moment of self reflection and change; he lacks ambition and desires. A man that by sheer luck starts working with the mafia and becomes a union leader because he seems bored enough and needs a little bit of enjoyment in his life. That's the only argument that drives his action. The more personal interactions are set aside. His daughter notices from an early age his activities, though we never see a confrontation. The relationship he develops with Al Pacino's character is suppose to grow a lot closer, he is the stepfather of his daughter, but their interaction on screen is all the opposite, very rigid and more like that of subordination. De Niro's character "tries" with very doubtful conviction to persuade Al Pacino's into retiring or else... Always afraid to speak up and say the things straight forward. Not truly the reaction one would take when your best friend's life is on the line. By the end of the film, De Niro's apparently thinks about his past actions, kind of nostalgic,but not with the slightest regret for all his mistakes or wrongdoings. Someone who misses more being a lackey than the deep connections he had.