TheFranciscos.Net

I’ll keep it short but sweet – “The Departed” is no “GoodFellas” (nor was I expecting it to be), but this is one helluva movie. Great performances all around from Leo and Matt (neither of whom I was ever a fan of), to Martin Sheen and of course the always excellent Jack Nicholson. Even Mark Wahlberg had a great, albeit short role, as the second-in-command of “The Staties” (Boston slang for state cops).

This is not a gangster movie. Rather, it shows how two moles infiltrate different sides of the law. I’ve read that it’s based on the Chinese movie “Internal Affairs”. which I haven’t seen yet. I’m not sure how much of the script is a direct translation, but one thing “The Departed” has as an advantage over its Asian counterpart is Mr. Nicholson. There is simply nobody else that can deliver those lines of dialogue quite the way he does.

This is another career milestone for director Martin Scorsese. Maybe this time the academy will finally give him the Oscar for Best Director. Well worth your time and money.