a mess but an entertaining mess

Rating: Null/10 (21 October 2002)

This movie is a shameless piece of entertainment. It doesn't succeed as a drama and it isn't even the best action movie I've ever seen. However its still good. There are some great scenes. My favorite scene in the film is when Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner)confronts the evil AL Capone(Robert Deniro)in the hotel lobby. It is one of my all time favorites. "You got nuttin, ya hear, nuttin'" Classic. There are plenty of other good lines. Mainly this is a comic look at gangsters. It was based on a kids show for crying out loud. The characters are little more then characatures. So what! Unlike other gangster flicks, we identify with the good honest Ness instead of the Deniro character. At the end however he sacrifices his moral integrity by commiting murder. You know, when he throws the guy of the building. Oh well, you weren't expecting it were you? Uneccessary maybe but its just a movie. we pay to see the bad guy get it in the end. Freudian catharsis and all that. HOwever, I think some of the violence was completely unnecessary. Forget the historical innacuricies. What you have is some of the greatest actors having a field day with their material. Don't take it too seriously. It has its faults but its still a lot of fun.