An excellent, larger than life depiction of the age of Capone

Rating: 9/10 (8 November 2004)

When wanting a classic, unashamedly audience-pleasing film, one need look no further than The Untouchables. The film is partially based on the 1950's television series of the same name, but updates the retelling a bit to better suit today's audiences. The story takes place in 1920's prohibition era, when it was illegal to drink or possess alcohol. Enter alcohol baron Al Capone (Robert De Niro) and his mafia, who begin bootlegging, or illegally distributing alcohol to the public. It is the duty of Treasury department agent Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner) to stop Capone, and withhold the law, but his work proves difficult when he discovers no one is to be trusted; most everyone on the police force, media or any form of authority has been bribed by Capone to keep their mouth shut. To avoid detection, Ness assembles a handpicked team of 'untouchables', or law enforcers who refuse bribes. Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery, in an Oscar winning performance) acts as a mentor for Ness, teaching him how to get Capone before Capone gets him - shoot fast, and shoot first! 'George Stone', or Giuseppe Petri (Andy Garcia) is the youngest member of the team, a sharp shooting aspiring cop with old fashioned beliefs about law maintenance. Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) is an unassuming accountant who gets dragged up in the plan, but ultimately proves an essential part of the team.
Brian De Palma delivers a real masterpiece here, in what is easily one of his best films: the pacing is excellent, the cinematography is superb, marvelously capturing sensational (and Oscar nominated) 30's era sets, vehicles and costumes. (Robert De Niro's costumes were made exclusively by the real Capone's actual tailors) The great cast, of course, does nothing but add to the splendor, with Costner, Smith and Garcia all giving strong performances.
Connery bestows his character with his usual charisma, and enough drama to well deserve his Oscar, and De Niro creates a wonderfully wicked villain, complete with a memorable bit with a baseball bat, easily giving a picture perfect portrayal of the original Capone. Add an excellent script by David Mamet with tons of memorable lines and a wonderfully flowing score by Ennio Moricone and you get a wonderful, larger than life piece of film history. That's the Chicago way.
-9.5/10