the uncanny valley is strong in this one

Rating: 6/10 (29 November 2019)

Let's start with this. The 3 main characters younger facial reconstruction is just deep down in the uncanny valley. Especially De Niro's. I found it really hard not to get sucked out of the movie every time they're on screen. I get it that the film's appeal relies a lot on their casting. But i'd have rather had less emblematic actors doing the job without CGI makeup and with classic makeup for the scene in which they're older. Scorsese is a huge name enough to not have to cast these 3 as the main characters too. They could have played smaller roles and left some room for the next "them".
The CGI is sometimes very good and sometimes it's botched. When you're focused on that kind of stuff you cannot help yourself from watching the blurry chins, the hair lines that don't match, etc.
When you've seen several Pacino and De Niro movies you are used their younger body shapes and moves, and in this movie they just don't match. They move like older people, you can definitely feel it.
This is why I think traditional cinema should stay away from CGI and that kind of trick.
De Niro and Pacino just play too much a parody of themselves. It's like they were polyvalent actors when they were young and lost it by being typecast way too many times. This has a tendency to suck the audience out of the movie too : when you think "oh De niro is doing the De Niro inverted smile again" instead of just staying in the movie's flow. Don't get me wrong : they do the job really well, but it's like watching a brand new movie about someone saving the world, and BAM : it's Bruce Willis, and he's making jokes. BTW Pesci nailed it, he didn't "Pesci in Goodfellas"-ed his role. All the other actors are just top notch, with some very pleasant surprises, such as Stephen Graham as a mafia boss.
Scorsese does the job. Like always. Although he rested on his laurels and did almost not take any risk. There are very few directing stunts compared to his other works. But that's ok, it looks it was the point of the movie : stay classic. Or maybe... knowing that there would be a huge CGI work on the movie he chose not to make any complex camera shot. Maybe the veeeery academic frame compositions were just a way to make the CGI work easier.
The editing isn't perfect. Some cuts just don't match. And it's not some Nouvelle Vague effects, those are supposed to be obvious enough to create their effect. It's just details, such as body position or stuff like this, and it sucks you out of the movie too.
That's a lot of stuff that breaks the flow of the movie and make it hard to follow.
The OST is efficient. Same trick as in his other "historical" movies : using music as a time marker.
So nopes. Definitely not his best work. Still my favorite director.