The Unkemptables

Rating: 6/10 (15 December 2010)

An uncompromising style was lit by The Godfather and refuelled by Goodfellas during the 20th century; anything in the before or during stage of the two ceased to exist in masterpiece terms for very long. The idea to simply make a mob movie a cop drama revolving around Al Capone seems to be feigning the notion that true gangsters can still be told the other side of the fence effectively. They can't, or rather this can't half as well as it could have.
It's all smothered in the look though. Perfected haircuts, brandished liquor, breathed mists of cigar lit mercy, so in the respect of playing the era, it is the best character to be found – though Connery also gives it enough reason to watch (unsurprisingly). Costner, also playing a mostly straight laced, no nonsense police officer along with two other 'characters' who form the untouchables.
Admirable though it is to detract from the mob lifestyle, to show segments of it that seem to have no use except characterisation is cruel. Especially when the tension and style is carried with it, in sweet but short blips. Costner also can't seem to entirely stray from his Western prime either, that segment feels nothing more than a word in from himself or a hastily added diversion from the office scenery. Biased though this is coming from a gangster fan, fellow police drama Zodiac worked brilliantly and that was as ambiguous as you could hope for.
In short, if the last twenty minutes had been as good as what preceded it then this would have been a more than welcome change in perspective. Turns out it isn't.