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'The Departed' is a must see
"The Departed" Running time: 105 minutes MPAA rating: R Grade: A
Wow. Just ... wow.
I can't remember the last time I was blown away by a Martin Scorsese movie, but he really hit the ball out of the park with this one.
"The Departed" is a gripping, gritty, Mean Streets cop drama that'll have you on the edge of your seat. It is, hands down, the best movie of the year.
Scorsese has assembled a spectacular cast, including Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg -- each of whom gives an Oscar-worthy performance.
The real surprise is Jack Nicholson's performance. For decades now, Jack has basically been playing a caricature of himself onscreen, chewing up the scenery and then going home to collect the check.
In "The Departed," Nicholson's portrayal of mob boss Frank Costello is the best acting job he's done since "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." It is powerful, frightening and refreshing to finally see the man reminding us of what a great actor he truly is.
On the other side of the tracks is Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), an upper-middleclass rookie fresh from the academy who is recruited by the special division to infiltrate Costello's gang.
 | | Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon in "The Departed" |
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What ensues is a gripping game of cat and mouse, as each side tries to uncover the identity of its respective rat.
And since this is a Scorsese picture, you know the result is gonna be violent and unexpected.
If you're a fan of "Goodfellas" and Martin Scorsese, but were disappointed by "The Aviator" and "Gangs of New York," you owe it to yourself to see "The Departed," if only to see a master craftsman return to the kind of storytelling he's best at.
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