The weight of expectation.

Rating: 6/10 (11 December 2019)

The Irishman. Well obviously it's too long, three and half hours is nuts, but with a cast like this, where the hell do you cut? Pacino chews the scenery, DeNiro's the slick backbone, Pesci... I don't know how old he is, but he's still terrifying. Age, much has been said about the de-ageing technique used here and how distracting it is. Personally I found it a bit weird to start but it didn't bother me that much. Plot wise there's nothing new, a vast cast of gangster characters (Stephen Graham is also fantastic) who's stories thread together in predictably violent ways. It looks great, slick with no expense spared and it's nice to see DeNiro in something with some real weight again. The pace is slow, familiar, comforting, with characters that feel like old friends... albeit scary ones. Despite all its methodical twists and turns though, it feels a little thin. Everyone is portrayed with surface detail, I wish there was just a little more under the hood and even with its contemplative tone giving it a bit more depth than the more standard Scorsese mob affair, it really didn't excite me and I was quite relieved when the credits rolled. The rating may seem a little harsh, but expectation killed this for me, but it's worth a watch and may even grow on me.