Greasing the squeaky wheels of justice with panache

Rating: Null/10 (23 April 2003)

THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987) ***1/2 Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Richard Bradford, Jack Kehoe, Patricia Clarkson. Brian De Palma's superior screen adaptation of the classic Robert Stack tv show with Costner perfectly squeaky clean as Federal Agent Eliot Ness and his faction of justice, The Untouchables, out to stop Al Capone (an over the top De Niro) and his crimewave in Prohibition era Chicago. Fine cast with a strong performance by Connery (Best Supporting Actor) as a seasoned Irish cop and a gritty and lean screenplay by playwright David Mamet. Neat recreation of Eisenstein's Odessa Steps sequence from "The Battleship Potemkin".