You can be a Scorsese fan and still admit when he doesn't make a good film

Rating: 5/10 (3 December 2019)

Too often we become fans of actors and directors and we let our bias cloud our judgment or we simply refuse to admit when our "team" isn't up to standards. I'm a Scorsese fan and this film is full of some of my favorite actors of all time. But I can admit that it's not a great film and in many ways it's actually a poor film.
A list of actors we are excited about seeing doesn't equal great film making. They keep it interesting and watchable by simply being present but even with a cast of Oscar winning giants, and a subject matter as interesting as Jimmy Hoffa, I kept dozing off trying to watch this and I saw it in a packed theater. And I'm not one to fall asleep in public.
Instead of trying to make the film one giant Lifetime Achievement Award party for every actor Scorsese has ever worked with, it would have been nice to see a little character development. There is none. Character after character is thrown into the story without proper introduction or any emotional connection. The pacing is brutally slow and the story meandering. There is no tension build up, no emotion, you don't really care who gets killed or who goes to prison. Because these are not characters you care about. Because we aren't given anything to make us care about them.
It seems once directors reach a certain point they start making self indulgent films that only they get. And their fans are so brainwashed they can't admit their hero has made a clunker. Well I can. Scorsese has made a clunker and it's being called a masterpiece because it's Scorsese and because there are so many well known actors involved.
And to add to everything he has used CGI to make them look younger and it's just distracting. Since when did Martin Scorsese go all Benjamin Buttons?
For the first time I found myself checking the time while watching a Scorsese film. He could have easily cut an hour out and nothing would have been missed. I would say skip the theater and just watch it on Netflix but I'm not sure it's possible to stay awake that way.