By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Al Pacino | Anna Paquin | Bobby Cannavale | Harvey Keitel | Jack Huston | Jesse Plemons | Joe Pesci | Kathrine Narducci | Ray Romano | Robert De Niro | Stephen Graham | Steven Van Zandt
Country: united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 209
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302006/reference
Thom says: “Let me be perfectly clear, director Scorsese has had a hugely successful career both financially & artistically and while I have highly admired a lot of his material, only 2 of his films received my highest rating: THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1993) & THE DEPARTED (2006). Moreover many of his biggest successes like RAGING BULL, CASINO, GANGS OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, THE KING OF COMEDY, THE COLOR OF MONEY, CAPE FEAR, THE AVIATOR, SHUTTER ISLAND, HUGO I could have very easily done without. Still he certainly knows how to put dynamic footage together. The biggest drawback here is that the first 2/3 of the film is nearly perfect, but the last 1 ½ hours of the film is useless, superfluous, & it becomes a terrible impediment to the overall appreciation of the movie. Plus there is the unenviable task of trying to convince the viewer there is a single decent reason to spend 3 ½ hours on watching the biography of a hired killer with the Mafia with no moral fiber whatsoever. Some unforgettable scenes really do resonate and the acting is of a very high quality, especially Al Pacino who nails Jimmy Hoffa’s character if not his body type. But Scorsese has done the gangster theme to death and this finally boils down to an unnecessary chapter. 3.5 cats“