Did we expect anything else?

Rating: 8/10 (29 November 2019)

Did anyone really expect anything else from Martin Scorsese?? Of course this film is brilliant but not only that its a return to the form of films like "Casino" and "Goodfellas". This film definitely has the feel of those two films for some reason maybe its the mobster/gangster sort of story connection............but first and foremost this is definitely its own film and absolutely shines with uniqueness. However I would say that it does have its faults !!
I cant go too into detail because there is so much i'll miss out but the directing is superb as I knew it would be, its not like you forget to direct a film over night........and Scorsese definitely still knows how to shoot a great film from start to finish.
De Niro, Pacino and Pesci, who would have thought that all 3 of them would be in a film together in 2019!! Let that sink in for a moment, that is a truly once in a life time event that 3 of the greatest actors to have lived, still continuing to deliver fantastic work so late into the careers. All of them brilliant again ! Trust me when I say this because I was skeptical to begin with, you definitely forget about the de-aging of De Niro pretty quickly because the story and characters are so riveting!! Now and then it does stand out but for the most part it works!!! De Niro is De Niro was else can you say, Pacino is Pacino but the surprise for me is Pesci who isn't really Joe Pesci. Gone are the days of being loud and being a very cantankerous, he is a much more reserved character, but one that definitely is formidable. Overall its so good to see all of them together !!
The story is fascinating and has some many avenues it goes down, in the form of time jumps. Now that sometimes can hinder a film but not for this one, it is very easy to tell which time period you are in and what story thread you are following. The editing of this film is sublime, it must have taken ages to do, I cant imagine how much of the film was actually cut because this run time is long.
And that is where I have my two faults of the film, the pacing and the runtime. The pacing is incredibly slow.............I mean incredibly slow, I'm just glad that you can pause Netflix and have a break every hour. Due to the fact that the story is so intense, it needs you to focus all the time......can be draining. The other is the runtime which at 3 hours 30 minutes even for Scorsese is very indulgent.........its simply too long, easily could have been trimmed 30 to 45 minutes here and there, might have had better pacing that way.
Overall its 80% out of 100 its very good, I think in time will definitely go down as one of Martin Scorsese's classics along side "Taxi Driver" , "Goodfellas" , "Raging Bull". To me I think it will be looked upon better than "The Departed" and "The Wolf of Wall Street". There is just something special about the film, the story and its characters..........along with the performances from 3 of the all time greats!! I may disagree on his view of comic-book films but he does sure know how to make a film, you cant deny that, whether you agree with him or not !