The Departed Details

[Highly rated reviewer]

Must see Movie

Brace yourself for this film.... it's a fast-paced, tense, action packed movie which doesnt let up for a minute. My body actually ached afterwards from being tense throughout.

Yes its a remake of Infernal Affairs but the acting and action here are outstanding. I would advise all to see it - one of the best films I've seen in a while, and believe me, I've watched a lot.

Will be better the first time you see this so make sure you're comfortable and definitely try and see it on the big screen before renting/buying.

Wish more people would talk like Dignam (Mark Wahlberg).

Watch Infernal Affairs instead!

This film really sucks. It's nowhere near as good as Infernal Affairs, which it is pretty much a remake of. Leonardo Dicaprio and Matt Damon do a good job as the undercover cop and the police mole (which is why I've given it the one star) but even they are powerless to counteract the turgid direction and godawful performances from many of the supporting cast.

Jack Nicolson in particular turns in a performance so dire, so awful and ridiculous as the ageing crime boss that every scene he is in becomes a buttock-clenchingly embarassing experience. He overacts to a degree one would not hitherto have thought possible.

This brings me to Mark Wahlburg as a tough-talking police sergant whose foul mouthed tirades are so badly written and over the top that they become unintentionally hilarious.

All in all the central conceit of the film (which was handled so well in the original) is submerged under a tide of swaggering machismo so all-consuming that it lurches into self-parody. Why Scorcese got an Oscar for this flatulent and self-indulgent piece of directing rather than one of his other films (all of which are better than this one) I'll never know.