Not quite phoned in

Rating: 6/10 (17 January 2020)

All the elements were in place to produce a great mob-style movie. Unfortunately, Scorsese' latest entry into this field falls just short of being memorable. While certainly not a bad movie, The Irishman felt to me like a movie made by a guy who has lost a little off of his fastball. Even the iconic actors populating this movie seemed to be moving in slightly less than full speed. Most of Scorsese' monumental work was an amalgam of kinetic energy with violent undertones that seemed inn inhabit the viewer's very being. The intensity was so overbearing in Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino, etc. that I often found myself literally gasping for air and looking over my shoulder for fear that I would be the next mob-hit victim. Not so in this movie. Maybe it's time for Marty to put this genre to bed.