An Ode to Gangster Cinema

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2019)

Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" is an epic gangster film that highlights family, betrayal, and loyalty. This movie is not Casino and definitely not Goodfellas. And this is not such a bad thing. This film is different in terms of relying only on realism and seriousness. Scorsese approached this film in a completely different way and the legendary cast excels with the flow. De Niro, Pesci, and Pacino all did an incredible job. Pacino had the right energetic performance, De Niro was interesting, and Pesci stole the show as a very complex, intriguing mob boss. The cinematography was excellent, of course, and the musical score varied from low to high... in order to fit the overall mellow, but exciting tone. However, there were a few minor issues that distracted my viewing. For instance, the kills seemed a little too cgi or just fake looking. And the one scene... actually, almost every scene where De Niro has to be physical, fell short, showcasing a depressing fail due to his age. This was the one thing that the deaging technology could not fix. But, as an overall film I was impressed. The acting was top notch and it was a great gangster epic encompassing time, history, while moving with a realistic approach to tell the story. This is not the best of Scorsese but it is definitely worth watching. In my opinion, this was more of a tribute, or an ode to the gangster films... could be a classic.. will definitely see it again.