this Scorsese blockbuster and undoubtedly, am one of them. If you are really expecting an impartial review from someone who used to check IMDB on a daily basis over the last year to see what's up with this movie, all that I can say is that my heart, well and truly, goes out for you.
Before I get into the review, do be informed that there are spoilers aplenty. A spoiler is anything that reveals information about a movie which could spoil the viewing pleasure. So, if you are one of those eccentrics who barks at your friends even for spilling inconsequential information, leave now or hold your peace.
With the movie being a remake of "Infernal Affairs", a movie I thoroughly enjoyed, comparisons to the original are inevitable and more often than not, the remake is conveniently thrashed concluding that it would never match it's original. "The Departed" begs to differ. Although I wouldn't say that it beats the original, it clearly stands up on it's own merit. Before I start on what worked, let me get the "What Didn't Work" part done.
Why the "rat on the railing" scene ?? Shouldn't those directorial touches pass you by instead of trying to jump and strangle you ??
The equivalent of "344 Wash Ave" in the original was iconic. The DiCaprio/Sheen sequence and the DiCaprio/Damon sequence pales in comparison to the Leung/Wong and Leung/Lau scenes from the original. In the original, the building was a character. In the remake, the building is, ermm, a building.
A plot hole to drive a hovercraft in : Leung had to call Lau to the building because the only person who knew his real identity, his best friend and mentor - Wong - had been killed there trying to protect Leung's identity. He was at a dead end and his reaction is understandable. DiCaprio, on the other hand, only had to sit at home and watch re-runs of Seinfeld waiting for Wahlberg to return.
Costigan vs Chan - A desperate, angry Chan over a neurotic, angry Costigan.
Sullivan vs Ming - A conflicting, but somewhat sympathetic Ming over an opportunistic, dislikeable Sullivan.
Advantage Infernal Affairs.
Now for what works:
Jack Nicholson - I forgive you for doing "Anger Management". You still have to beat "A Few Good Men" and "The Shining" before you retire.
Matt Damon - Sullivan is probably second only to Ripley.
DiCaprio vs Leung - An absolutely brilliant performance by DiCaprio, but a powerfully moving one by Leung. Let us just call it a tie.
"With a loaded gun at your head, What is the difference ??"
"I am the one who is doing his job. You must be the other guy"
"Cranberry Juice ??"
"One of us had to die. With me, it tends to be the other guy"
William Monahan, I am going to wait for your next movie.
The music score with Rolling Stones (Gimme Shelter), Roger Waters (not exactly the best rendition of "Comfortably Numb", but still) and Dropkick Murphys (Shipping up to Boston). Awesome.
Watching Scorsese get back to a genre which has his stamp all over it. I now know how people would have felt watching Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Scores Say "See"
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7 comments:
Did see Departed. Pretty impressive except for the heroine and Matt Damon.
Does Infernal Affairs also end in a similar way? But how could it without having the Dignum character?
Totally unexpected and messy ending.
The end is similar to IA but for the death of Damon's character. There is no Mark Wahlberg character and Andy Lau's wife and Tony Leung's Psychiatrist are two different characters. In IA, Andy Lau isn't as evil as Damon is and there are scenes which show that he wants out of this mob thing. Tony Leung dies just like DiCaprio, killed by another mole who is killed by Lau. The catch here is that his wife starts hating him after she knows that he is a mole. Lau wins as a cop, but loses out on his family which is probably dramatic than the end in TD.
I didn't watch IA but after reading your review, I do feel like. Liked 'The Departed', esp. for DiCaprio's performance.
er...one silly request: Please edit the spelling for 'Sienfeld'. Being an ardent fan of 'Sienfeld' (re-runs immaterial), I fail in resisting the urge to tell you this. :-)
@Mayuri
Seinfeld (Typo from me - Not Seinfled, and not Sinefled either :-)) corrected :-).
Thanks and do keep visiting. About IA, its actually a trilogy so do check out the other two too.
Why dont you update your blog oftener ????
-Soliloquist
And what happened to all those sci fi short stories that initially brought me here ??
-Soliloquist
@soliloquist
1. I am trying, I really am :-). But having a day job isn't helping that cause (Although it helps me in just about every other way imagineable ;-) )
2. (scratches his head, but doesn't concede defeat, vows to write one soon enough - for large values of soon)
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