Amazing!!

Rating: 8/10 (24 October 2016)

De Caprio is the heart of the film, a daredevil whose motivation seems to be a misguided desire to acquire as much money as possible. He lives his life as a constant dare, using and abusing the investments of others, gambling with his personal relationships and his own health. He constantly endangers his life and those who are closest to him. It seems like he is capable of stopping this fall, but he keeps sinking and sinking. We could say he has a survivor's nature, but he carries with a very intense death wish, too. Usually, it's easy to understand how people like him become so successful. There's gotta be a bit of charisma to their natures, so that we can see how they seduce the rest of the world into following them. Unfortunately, the main lead here lacks that quality, and in one of the worst casting choices in recent history, what we get is a man who is not full of life and youth. He himself become his own iceberg as he reveals his "age" early in the film, and De Caprio hasn't looked that youthful in decades. This is not to say that De Caprio doesn't try, but he's not a good fit for this role. About three years ago, in "The Social Network" we could see the recklessness and drive of man who could lure you into a trap. There's no way that seems believable here, especially when you see the people he surrounds himself with. His wolf can't cast a spell, and he can hardly bite. Mercifully, we are not treated to the hyper kinetic editing and camera work we usually encounter in Scorcese's films, but he's found other ways to annoy us. He intermingles