This has its moments - what Scorsese film does not? -- but over a two-and-a-half-hour stretch it huffs and puffs and still doesn't blow the house down.
Metro
March 16, 2017
The definitive Boston Irish mob movie of our era was made by an Italian from Queens.
The Departed has enough tension to keep you engrossed, and enough color for ten crime pictures. Scorsese obviously adores his expensive, expansive ensemble.
Daily Telegraph (UK)
January 25, 2015
The Departed is an example of a cinematic master seeking to live up to the veneration with which he is regarded by his pupils.
What makes this a Scorsese film, and not merely a retread, is the director's use of actors, locations and energy, and its buried theme. I am fond of saying that a movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
You'll have to go back to GoodFellas to find a Marty movie this fun, this enamored of language, of ethnic slurs, of "Gimme Shelter," of explosive violence. Scorsese's return to form is the year's most dynamic film. Really, how could it not be?
As in his remake of Cape Fear, Scorsese has mucked up a B-movie he professes to love: producing something full of twists but devoid of that lovely, fluttery, rare thing: surprise.
