Marty misses the mark

Rating: 6/10 (1 December 2019)

As much as I wanted to love this movie it missed the mark, a last hurrah for such an iconic and masterful film maker which unfortunately feels flat.
I'll start by saying that I'm a huge fan of Mr. Scorsese, especially his early work. The ensemble cast is something dreams are made of but I feel as though the movies success is carried by such legendary names, look past this and you'll find a bloated, lifeless, and flat shadow of a film. As many people have mentioned the CGI is off putting and in many ways contradicts Scorsese's philosophy on film. The actors simply cannot convey the movements of a younger man which is required, this is nothing against them individually but the choices made by Mr. Scorsese.
Going into a Scorsese movie (especially a Scorsese gangster flick) one carries certain expectations, one such expectation is of course a killer soundtrack! Marty was well known for handpicking his soundtracks from his carefully curated collection of 45's and over his career this has become a staple of his movies. To put it blatantly the Irishman's soundtrack is non existent.
Secondly one expects to be hit by that pure cinematic magic that has immortalised the likes of Goodfella's and Casino. In this regards the Irishman felt like a long drawn out slog of information with no real heart and soul. This may be down to the Frankenstein camera rig that was used, nothing beats the brilliance of 35mm and the quality it brings to the screen, the Irishman felt like a TV movie.
My final gripe with the film was perhaps a personal issue, it depressed me immensely. Seeing the greatest actors of their generation wilt in front of my eyes was truly sad. The great Bobby D, Joe Peci, Keitel (underutilized), and Pacino now all old men playing shadows of themselves, it was sad. The thought that we will undoubtedly lose these great actors washed over me at the end of the movie and left me feeling truly sad.
I feel as though this movie is being measured by the weight of the names involved alone (wether positive or negative) and not as a stand alone piece of cinema. Take away "Directed by Martin Scorsese" and the movie could be easily overlooked, sure it has the stellar cast but is anyone truly convinced?