The Departed (2007, DVD)

I've always liked Martin Scorsese's movies, he has done several types of movies and has shown that he definitely knows how to make good movies. When you see his name stamped on a movie, you know you're going to get quality work. And he's shown his versatility in directing unrelated films like Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, After Hours, The Last Waltz, Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Color Of Money, Raging Bull, The Aviator, the list goes on. But what Martin is known best for are his gangster movies. From Mean Streets to Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, and now The Departed, he shows he knows how to make gangster movies. My personal favorite from Martin is Goodfellas (I've seen it a dozen times, and I think it's right up there with The Godfather for best gangster/mob movie of all time), but as good as Goodfellas is, The Departed gives it a run for its money. The thing I like about Martin Scorsese the best is he has a vision. He knows what works for him, and he stays with what he knows. And if he decides to go a different way, he definitely does his homework. He knows cinematography as well and knows what will look great on the big screen, and it looks just as great in the living room after you pop the movie in.

The Departed is an excellent movie with an excellent cast. Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin all put forth performances so real that you believe that they are the characters. DiCaprio, Damon, and Nicholson steal the show with their great performances in great roles; but it's Wahlberg, Sheen, and Baldwin who complete the movie with their excellent supporting roles. Sometimes you see an excellent cast fall flat on their face (Ocean's Twelve), but Scorsese doesn't let any egos get in the way. He does an excellent job of keeping everyone within their own character, and the result is outstanding.

The Departed is similar to the movie Donnie Brasco with Al Pacino and Johnny Depp, but it's way more complicated. Complicated in a good way. It takes a while for everything to play out (it runs in at two and half hours), but it all comes together, and I'm glad Martin didn't skip out on the storytelling by making the movie shorter. I honestly don't know what could've been cut out. It's about a mole who gets inside the mob while reporting to police officers in order to bring down mob boss Frank Costello (Nicholson). Only problem is that he has a cop that's supposed to be on his side who's reporting back to Frank, so Frank keeps eluding the heat. Meanwhile, each side is trying to figure out who the mole is on the other side. There are all kinds of twists and turns which make this movie truly original and great, and it keeps you guessing all the way up to the climactic end.

It's nice to see that Martin finally got his Oscar nod. I cannot think of anyone in Hollywood who has done so much for the movie industry, and yet kept getting snubbed year after year. He finally got what was coming to him, just like the guys who get whacked in his movies, but in a good way. Goodfellas is still my favorite Scorsese movie (favorite movie period), but The Departed is right up there. I was actually kind of surprised to see that he won the Oscar for Departed; not because of the quality of the movie, but because of past snubbings. I thought maybe Scorsese's movies were too violent for the Academy. They finally got it right. Thank you.