A mature, masterful offering from Scorsese

Rating: 9/10 (28 December 2019)

If The Irishman is Scorsese's last word on mob movies, then this is a thoughtful, profound one from the master of the genre. It has the characteristic Scorsese liveliness, wit, humour, cool tracking shots, surprising and dynamic editing, awesome soundtrack, but there's more. His previous movies did show the consequences of the life of a gangster, but they never went this far. You never saw the wise guys playing bocce in jail, looking old and frail, or the boss who used to call the shots, being unable to eat bread because of his dentures. The last shot - a clear reference to the end of The Godfather - doesn't have the grave, somber but super cool vibe of Michael Corleone becoming the new Don. The Irishman ends with an old man, alone, morally bankrupt, emotionally incapable of true remorse, someone who murdered his best friend in cold blood. It's a reckoning, and a fitting one in the age of The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and other works which explore the ethical fall out of the actions of corrupt men. Scorsese's movies have always touched upon violence, redemption, faith, but watching The Irishman, these issues are now dealt with through the perspective of a director who's lived long and seen much.
As a fan of Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Casino, or Mean Streets, it's such an incredible treat to see Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel, and more coming together on screen. All of them are giving their very best. Pesci always looks true to the name of "wise guy"; there's an intelligence, a cunning, a foreboding to his eyes at all times. De Niro's tough guy impassiveness is a form of art. What those eyes, this twisted down scowl can tell! (His face, when he's boarded the fateful plane to Detroit, speaks a thousand words). Al Pacino is unbelievably charismatic as Jimmy Hoffa - it's a gift to have him in a Scorsese flick, the missing player to an all-star roster. Watching them all interact adds to the rewarding feeling The Irishman provides to any mob movie fan.
In sum, The Irishman is a masterpiece by a master. If God blesses Scorsese with more time on this earth, I am curious to see what kind of movie he'll do at 90, 100 years old!