Another classic from Martin Scorsese.

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2020)

Back in the 1970s there were five filmmakers that gained so much attention not only by the critics, but also by the audience as well and all five of them received huge critical praises that even today are considered some of the greatest in film history and of course those five names are Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Brian De Palma. Those names changed films forever and even the way we tell stories in general, but sadly nowadays out the five filmmakers only Martin Scorsese has retained the most vitality in his filmography, he rarely had a misstep and he still retains the voice and energy in his films that he's never lost, while the other four somehow just lost the magic of what made them fantastic in the first place and one of them is clearly trying so bad to bring back his old self, but doesn't succeed all that much (i'm looking at you, Steven Spielberg).
The film is very long and it is something that will definitely be criticized so much by many people for it's runtime. To be honest - i didn't had any problem with the runtime at all, since some of my favorite films of all time are super long, so i'm very used to it and i don't have complaints here. If a director wants to take his time to tell the story the right way, then they have my full support. I still find it weird that today not many directors make long films and people complain about a film being too long, since back in the twentieth century we had films that lasted over four to five hours. After watching the film, it didn't felt like it was three and half hours long thanks to the fantastic editing by Thelma Schoonmaker. For me it felted like it was an hour shorter. If you're still not convinced about the runtime, then my only suggestion is this: if you have a day that you're not studying at school, university or you've taken a day off from working, then the best option is to watch the film in the morning (this is exactly what i chose to do today) and by the time you finish the film or any film that is three hours long or more, then you have a long day ahead of you. Yes - the night time is always the best time to experience any film, but it does exist a moment, where you realize when the film is over - it's already the time that you have to go to bed.
What Martin Scorsese was able to bring to the big screen is truly incredible and with his masterful direction and Steven Zaillian's screenwriting talent ("Schindler's List", "Gangs of New York", "Moneyball" and David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo") were able to bring this story to life. Originally i didn't know what to think about this story that Martin Scorsese chose to adapt and tell, since i'm not all that familiar with Frank Sheeran, Jimmy Hoffa and the Bufalino crime family, but i did find it very interesting and after seeing the film - i really want to do a research to know more, because not all films that are based on true events cover everything in full detail and sometimes they do change things on purpose. Probably some things don't translate very well, when you adapt true events into a film.
I'm so happy to see Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci in a great film again, because De Niro and Pacino have been in some shockingly terrible trash nowadays and Pesci is basically retired, so it's wonderful to see them give their best as actors once again. It's the case of when you have the right person behind the scenes showing how passionate he (the director) is, when he makes the films that he wants and motivates the actors to make something truly amazing, so that they can give their best as professional actors. The way they deliver their lines of dialogue and how all of it comes out from their mouths - it doesn't feels like it's scripted and it flows so naturally. It's so amazing the way these fantastic actors disappear and in their place the characters that they play came alive.
Alongside with it's amazing camera work, fantastic music (which perfectly reflects the time periods that the film is told), great sound, mind-blowing visual effects (i don't have the best eye for CGI, since i'm one of those people, who can't really notice bad CGI, unless it's very terrible or very noticeable (there are still times that i can tell, but when they are done so well - it's very hard to notice), but i was still surprised of how incredible all of it looked, even thought there was one moment where the physical performance of Robert De Niro wasn't all that convincing) - all of those aspects come together to make this film.
The only complaints that i have with "The Irishman" is that some of the side characters were very underutilized, especially Anna Paquin's character (Frank Sheeran's daughter, when she's older). When Peggy was young she had more screen time, but when she got older we don't see her enough. I understand why, since we're experiencing all of the events through Frank Sheeran's point of view. She looked up to Jimmy Hoffa and when she realizes that her father killed him - she doesn't want to have nothing to do with him and her father wasn't involved all that much in her childhood along with her sisters, which is very understandable, but i think it would have been better if we had the chance of knowing her more, but we don't and because of that - it doesn't have a huge impact to Frank Sheeran's arc. The other complaint that have is very small: scene where Frank Sheeran goes with his daughter to beat up a store owner of a supermarket, because he shoved her. He goes inside the supermarket and starts beating him up and the beat up continues outside. The punches and the kicking didn't look convincing at all and i wanted to point that out. Even though i did praised the CGI - i do have a small problem with that aspect. I did notice that they used CGI blood and those moments are the only time where the CGI was noticeable.
In short - it's fantastic that Martin Scorsese is still doing great work at the age of 77 (by the time i'm writing the review) and has this energy of continuing to make films that he's still passionate. If the film was directed by a different person, then the whole thing would probably not have worked in the way that Netflix was expecting. "The Irishman" will definitely be considered by many as a classic like the previous films by Martin Scorsese and each generation will have the chance to experience the tale of Frank Sheeran. I'm giving "The Irishman" a 9.4/10.