I get the criticism, but I thought it was excellent

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 2020)

As someone who loves (most of) Martin Scorsese's work and especially his old gangster films, 'The Irishman' was always going to be a must-see for me. As I usually do when seeing a movie, I went into this without watching the trailer and with as little knowledge or expectations about the story/film as possible, and I was not disappointed.
'The Irishman' is excellent, another masterwork by Scorsese and up there with my favourite gangster films, though probably not quite on the same level as the likes of 'The Godfather' and 'Goodfellas'. It looks fantastic with great cinematography and some smart use of CGI for anti-ageing effects. I really enjoyed the storyline, which has depth yet is relatively easy to follow, and the characters are very convincing.
If it has any flaws they are certainly very minor and did not affect my enjoyment of the film. I would normally tend to agree with the criticism of the excessive length - nobody want to sit staring at a screen for three-and-a-half hours - but I'm prepared to make an exception for 'The Irishman' as it held my interest throughout. A fantastic film and another Scorsese classic.