The Departed

I wanted to avoid comparisons with the Asian smash Infernal Affairs, of which The Departed is a remake. But if you know the original, in which the given story is filmed more briskly and more clearly, not a single character in it is a superficial poser (Jack Nicholson), and the Asian visuals are more exotic for a European than the worn-out “gritty America”, there is absolutely nothing stunning about the The Departed. Of course – Martin Scorsese and his court cinematographer are masters at what they do, so the film is never boring for even a second and we get to spend time in the company of the world’s acting elite, from whose characters the director gets maximum psychological enjoyment. But the film as a whole gives the impression that its makers didn’t approach it with as much love as they did The Aviator. Leonardo DiCaprio is the only one who gave his full commitment to the project and put his soul into it. With a few more roles in this vein, I will rank him among my personal top five actors. Otherwise, however, The Departed is merely a solid cops-and-mafia drama that leaves American audiences startled thanks to its ending, which is not what they’re used to from a Hollywood flick. The Departed deserves four stars in the context of current American productions, but definitely not in the context of the director’s filmography. I will gladly watch it again, but I can’t hide my slight disappointment. (27/10/2006)

I was really looking forward to this. Power. But maybe too much. The Departed is certainly not a bad film, but from beginning to end I couldn’t get rid of the impression that it's primarily a film that drags on and is unnecessarily long. Yet the number of minutes (the great Casino is even longer, whilst the absolutely fantastic The Irishman is even longer than Casino) is not the problem, but rather what they are filled with. I don't know the original, but it's three quarters of an hour shorter, and I wouldn't be surprised if all that seemed boring or unnecessary here was the work of William Monahan and Martin Scorsese. (26/02/2021)

It’s against nature, but Marty is getting younger. This is the kind of fucking entertaining film that even a young kid in the director’s chair wouldn’t be ashamed of. Those almost two and a half hours passed by like water. In the case of the ensemble cast, it's pointless to comment on DiCaprio and Nicholson, they're chapters unto themselves, so I'll just single out the much-maligned Damon (that perfect smarmy crooked character, I can't imagine it could have been played any better) and especially Wahlberg (!!!), whose brilliantly written lines were a joy to listen to, and his banter with Baldwin made me laugh out loud. After the screening, I remembered Steven Spielberg's words that he "doesn't have to prove anything to anyone anymore and just wants to have fun with movies", I feel the same way about The Departed. I probably wouldn't give Scorcese an Oscar for it, in the context of his previous, albeit more notable work (if does get it, it will be mainly "for merit"), but it's gratifying that underneath the skin of the grey professor emeritus, there's still that old familiar rebel from the days of Mean Streets and Taxi Driver :) (19/11/2006)

Until the very end, Scorsese's speedy directing and the great actors manage to disguise the fact that this tale about cops, rats and hidden agents may have too trivial of a plot, in which, unlike Infernal Affairs, there is no room for deeper psychology and surprises. Nevertheless, it is a thriller that can be watched breathlessly and enjoyed at an incredible pace of storytelling. The question is whether it can be watched more than once. (10/08/2008)

And this is an Oscar-winning movie? Marty’s weakest work? Ha ha. I haven’t yet seen Infernal Affairs yet, so I should avoid comparing them. The beginning is boring as hell. Plus, I have nothing against cussing and vulgarity, but too much of a good thing... The screenplay must have been awful for a start and the actors must have agreed to do it just because of Scorsese. And what does the Fox say? “You can’t build on wobbly foundations"? But not to be too critical. DiCaprio is really good and the end is quite interesting for an American movie (but not really, when I remember that the story originates from Asia). (07/08/2007)