Slowly draws you into selling out to the Netflix Machine

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2019)

I give this title an 8.8 out of 10 stars that score might drop to the lowest of 8.2 on a rewatch perhaps but is unseen. Scorsese is one of the only directors that I can trust for quality films. This one had all the trademark moves: establishing steady cam rolling opening shot with fantastic score, the way he can jump from narration to cut scenes and bring it all back, starting from the middle and explaining the past while uncovering the plot; he has the formula down. The movie itself is an epic 3 hours and 30 minutes which puts it up there with Lord of the Rings and Benhur for runtime (not boredom) by hour 2 to 2.5 I was hooked into watching the rest of the film that is where the apex of the film lies. Pesci from out of retirement is brilliant it is like he never left, not as vulgar and over-the-top as previous films but he is still very daunting in character and subtle delivery.
At first glance you don't really understand what the movie is about, especially since the way they advertised it to me was a focus on an ex-hitman and his relationship with his daughter which in reality is about 3 percent of the movie, so I will have to discredit that portion; it might have been the motivation in writing the book but not the movie. The story really boils down to the relationship between these 3 guys one of which is Jimmy Hoffa played by Al Pacino who is unstoppable in mindset (I could see some of that Scarface flare in there as well). The movie is also about history in the making and looking back at life through duty and loyalty in the broadest sense of the word, in that regard De Niro is more muted and is instead more of a tool of bringing that history to screen than an actual person to an extent.
I can't leave a review without talking about the misses and negatives because I would say watch it on your own to know what is good, but knowing any Scorsese film you get the build up and the conclusion. Not to be understated I really want him to direct a movie that isn't mob related, I know it's his bread and butter but I wonder if he could put as much detail into something else because I honestly think he can do it, (the little things: explaining why the hotdogs were the best, how to make pancakes all that detail in narration that is irrelevant but doesn't seem story book like Quentin.) Other than that; there are some character development that goes nowhere like the wives at the beginning, and I think about 10 mins of the first act could have been shelved; there is no need for it. Uncharacteristic of Scorsese is that the beginning doesn't have the feel of the rest of the film but the formula is the same with his running plot style (quick cuts, change in character arc, etc). In part you might be disappointed if you thought this film was going to be a fiction mob movie where De Niro plays the monster and his daughter revives their relationship though story-telling because its not that at all. If anything the movie is part Americana, part aging-mob with historical accuracy being more of a shade than a color. I'll end on saying that this film was start to finish about one person but it was not about that person at all, it was about people living in an era and the inevitable outcomes riding the tide of life. If it will be a classic is not likely per-say but Martin always comes through, just a little lame that Netflix had buy him out to do this but it is still very much quality. He should retire the mob films though and make Tyson or a different genre at this point instead of playing it safe.