Movie Info

The Departed

Lies. Betrayal. Sacrifice. How far will you take it?

The Departed is the Martin Scorsese take on the popular Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. There are many similarities between the two movies and The Departed could have been a bad rip-off of a pretty good Chinese movie. However, Scorsese builds on the original story and creates one of his best movies ever.

Scorsese shows us that he still has what it takes to skillfully craft a good movie. The movie starts off strong and doesn't let up until the final scene of the movie. I barely noticed that the movie was 152 minutes long.

Now, the success of The Departed cannot solely be pinned on the director. Scorsese brought in long-time collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio and an all-star cast to support him. Infernal Affairs also had an all-star cast of Hong Kong's top talent so the script itself was built for the sheer talent that Scorsese brought in. Besides DiCaprio's brilliant performance as undercover cop Billy Costigan, Matt Damon performs an equally pleasing role as the gangster mole Colin Sullivan.

Let us not forget about Jack Nicholson's awesome portrayal of gangster Frank Costello. A ruthless Boston mobster, Nicholson's performance chilling and it goes to show that Nicholson has always been better as a villain. Also in the supporting cast are the hilarious Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg. The one exchange between them during one of the police briefings was fucking hilarious! I just loved the dialog throughout the movie. Rounding out the case is Martian Sheen as the Costigan's boss, Captain Queenan.

There's a love triangle with Costigan, Sullivan and a police psychiatrist (Very Farmiga) but I thought it really didn't add to the movie. Well except that the two main characters were screwing the same woman...that was pretty amusing.

The acting was superb and the script was nicely adapted a Boston Police/Mobster setting. The ending was also a surprise for me as I did not remember the ending for Infernal Affairs. All I can say is that when the shooting starts, the shooting doesn't end.

I think the North American audiences will love this movie as it's really something different from your typical drama. As for me? This is your typical Hong Kong style cop movie but Scorsese did a really good job adapting to for audiences here. I really did enjoy the movie and it was everything I thought it would be.

On a side note, I did hear some Chinese viewers complain in the background about the movie. I have one suggestion to all those potential viewer who have seen Infernal Affairs. Don't forget that this is an adaptation and was never meant to be an exact remake of the Hong Kong flick. Sure there are similarities, but honestly? Hong Kong films would suck in North America. It's like comparing apples and oranges at times.

Dragoncrypt Sunday, November 19, 2006