If the story suffers initially from a slight lack of focus, hang in there, because you will soon become immersed in a mesmerizing, expertly plotted cat-and-mouse game.
Comment
10/05/06
The Departed (2006)
92
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:225
Fresh:207
Rotten:18
Average Rating:8.2/10
Consensus: The Departed is a thoroughly engrossing gangster drama with the gritty authenticity and soupy morality that has infused director Martin Scorceses past triumphs. Featuring outstanding work from an excellent cast that includes Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon, some critics say the film even tops its source material (the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs). The Departedmarks a triumphant return to form for Scorsese; it's his best-reviewed film since GoodFellas.
Theatrical Release:06-10-2006
Synopsis: Director Martin Scorsese returns to his trademark style with the violent, bruised, and bloody feature THE DEPARTED. Scorsese filched the basic storyline from Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak's... [More]
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Vera Farmiga
Director: Martin Scorsese
Reviews for The Departed
181 - 200 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
With its welter of double crosses, The Departed is completely engrossing, a master class in suspense.
10/05/06
The Departed, which screenwriter William Monahan cleverly adapted from the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, crackles right along, stopping only long enough for Scorsese's signature bursts of explosive violence.
10/05/06
Scorsese's sharpest film in a decade and the most entertaining major studio release this year.
10/05/06
It is probably superior to almost anything released this year and is a disappointment only when compared with Scorsese's previous accomplishments.
10/05/06
After the dolled-up theatrics of his last few features, from Casino (1995) up through The Aviator (2004), it's a kick to find director Martin Scorsese back in prime form, at least in the terrific first half of The Departed.
10/05/06
Comparisons to Goodfellas and Casino notwithstanding, it has a verve and texture all its own. It also has, courtesy of William Monahan, some of the best dialogue that Scorsese has ever worked with.
10/05/06
A pulpy, operatic, rousingly good crime thriller.
10/05/06
Takes a really good movie and makes it great.
10/05/06
Even if it had come out nine months ago, there is little doubt that anything you see this year -- frankly, anything of its genre you've seen in any recent year -- could surpass The Departed.
10/05/06
In Martin Scorsese's thrilling, throbbing reinterpretation of [Infernal Affairs], it is the war that rages within all of us -- between our better and our badder selves -- that transforms this tale of treachery into one of the year's best movies.
10/05/06
The balance of brutal violence, wildly inappropriate humor, and easy, low-boil romance is nothing short of masterful... a hell of a good time.
10/05/06
Somebody tell Scorsese to clear off some space on his mantle for a guy named Oscar.
10/05/06
The Departed, which situates the Lau-Mak storyline in contemporary Boston, matches expectations for roughly two-thirds of its somewhat distended 2 1/2-hour running time.
10/05/06
Kept in balance, The Departed's verbal and visual gifts, gun-toting menace, down-and-dirty existentialism, and bristling suspense should please both sides of the movie aisle.
10/05/06
An exhilarating pulp entertainment.
10/05/06
Dazzlingly done, with a welcome gloss of comic panache, it's the sort of thing Scorsese does better than any other major director in Hollywood.
10/05/06
Efficient rather than profound. But when efficiency is this much fun, it would be churlish to ask for more.
10/05/06
Strong dialogue, intrigue and great music. Top notch acting, crisp direction and editing. Unfortunately, a contrived love triangle & climax greatly compromise the integrity.
10/05/06
Nicholson will undoubtedly be accused of hamming it up ... but, really, what choice does he have surrounded by all of the macho posturing on display?
10/05/06
Latest News for The Departed
December 29, 2008:
Scorsese Rounds Up Departed Gang for New Mafia Pic 
According to the Boston Herald, Martin Scorsese is plotting a return to Mafia territory for his next project -- to tell the story of hitman-turned-snitch John Martorano. More...
April 09, 2008:
Total Recall: The 10 Most Corrupt Cops in Movies
In honor of David Ayer's Street Kings we did a little bad-to-worse survey of the boys who soil their blue. Some of them are hot, some of them caustic, but all of them are... More...
March 04, 2008:
Rush Hour 3 Takes '07 DVD Rental Crown
It may not have been quite the box-office phenomenon that its predecessors were -- and critics may have disliked it enough to keep it down at 20 percent on the Tomatometer --... More...
January 24, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Rambo Leads Army of New Films Into Battle
The resurrection of yesterday's movie heroes continues with Sylvester Stallone's new film Rambo which finds the vet in Southeast Asia where he is pulled into another battle with... More...
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