A dream come true!!!

Rating: 9/10 (30 November 2019)

Scorsese has always been one of my favourite directors. His films are simply spectacular and I always look forward to what he brings next. When I heard that he was revisiting the mob and crime genre I was thrilled but when I heard that it starred De Niro, Pacino and Pesci my excitement went through the roof. Having seen it, I can confirm that this is one of the best films of the year.
The Irishman follows the life of Frank Sheeran, a truck driver, who gets involved with the Bufalino crime family and Teamster Jimmy Hoffa.
It felt so good seeing a Martin Scorsese film after a long time. Goodfellas is one of my favourite films of all time so to see another crime mob film with three legends in the lead roles was just a dream come true. However if you're expecting something like Goodfellas, you may be disappointed because The Irishman is very different compared to it. This movie takes its time. It takes its time by fleshing out the characters and creating the feeling of that time period. A lot of the film is dialogue heavy which, by no means, is a bad thing because writer Steven Zaillian brings this world and its characters to life through it.
The dialogue is constantly investing and does not get boring at any point. You are sold on the fact that these are real people and not actors portraying them which goes to show how strong everyone's performance is but it also shows the talent Zaillian and Scorsese possess as both are able to keep the story and its people interesting through the film's 3 hour 30 minute runtime. Scorsese's direction is mesmerizing. There is no particular style to it but then again it did not have to have one as the film itself is quite old fashioned. He once again proves to us why he's the best in the business.
The acting is outstanding. This is De Niro's best perfomance in a long time and the same goes for Pacino. It felt incredible to see Joe Pesci acting in a film after his retirement. All three had amazing chemistry with one another and it's sad to think that this may be the first and last time we ever see these three together in a Scorsese film. The supporting actors Ray Romano, Stephen Graham, Harvey Keitel and many more were also great in their roles. The CGI used on the actors may be distracting at first glance but as you learn more and more about the story and its characters, the CGI becomes seamless and less of a distraction.
The music used is also very appropriate for the time period the film is set in as it creates a wonderful atmosphere to the movie. As mentioned before, the film is shot beautifully but the final shot is one that is quite thought provoking. It really made me think a lot about the many themes the film presents itself with.
The only problem I had was to do with Anna Paquin's character. Her character plays a big part in De Niro's character arc but I felt it was not explored as deeply as I wanted it to be.
All in all, The Irishman is a fantastic film. Scorsese has given another film that will definitely win some Oscars next year. It felt really refreshing to see a mob film this well executed with three absolute legends acting alongside each other.