Le Meh...

Rating: 7/10 (14 March 2011)

The Untouchables is a compelling account of the dismantling of the Al Capone gangster empire. This movie offers an experienced and exciting cast of classic actors. Sean Connery should be noted for his fantastic performance in particular. If this movie came out in 1970, as the directing style might suggest, it would have been a true classic. The story of Al Capone is an interesting and exciting tale rooted in the history of prohibition. Despite this, The Untouchables still leaves something to be desired. The story is not terribly complex and mirrors that of a video game, and Kevin Costner's performance keeps reminding me of Keanu Reeves in Speed or Speed 2: Cruise Control. Plus the action scenes are a little cheesy for 1987. For instance, there were a lot of "oohs" and "owes" from the actors as they're characters were being pumped full bullets. When I first heard about this movie, people had told me it was goo, and I was intrigued about the man who amassed and controlled the Chicago crime syndicate- Al Capone. But I found The Untouchables disappointing in this respect. Even though Robert DeNero does the job you'd expect him to do, but his character remains terribly underdeveloped. Al Capone is presented simply as a typical big, mean bad guy. His character is written simply to justify Kevin Costner's character shooting at him and his cronies periodically throughout the film. It feels a lot like a western: there are clearly distinguishable good guys and bad guys, lots of gunfights with lame stunts, and unrealistic dialog. It's basically a 1960's version of The Magnificent Seven that came out in the late 80's. It's dangerous to label any movie a "gangster movie" especially if they've been out since the Godfather. After watching this movie, you would never expect that Goodfellas came out just three years later, and Reservoir Dogs just five years later. Honestly, if you consider yourself a film buff, ad this movie to your resume' just to say you've seen it. Young kids might have liked it, if it weren't so ridiculously violent for such a simple film. But if you're looking for anything more than a good old-fashioned "new sheriff in town beats up the bad guys" movie, look elsewhere.