The Departed (minor spoilers)

As far as actors go, this movie has pretty much the highest caliber you could get in one movie. Jack Nicholson plays an out of control Irish mob boss, Matt Damon plays a cop, who moves quickly up the ranks to a detective, Leo Decaprio stars as a hot head cop who goes undercover and Mark Wahlberg is a foul mouthed hot headed federal agent and it all comes together perfectly in this brilliantly directed film by Martin Scorcese. Scorcese delivers his best movie in over a decade and the best movie of this year so far.


The Departed centers around a section in Boston where Irish mobs run the streets and the cops are trying to put fear back into criminals. Martin Sheen is perfect in a supporting role as a higher-up cop as is Alec Baldwin. Scorcese seems out to prove that no one makes intense, gritty crime dramas and with each scene he is slapping around the competition. The writing is crisp, the visuals pop off the screen in their realism and every single actor in this makes a giant contribution.


Nicholson appears to be in full force for the first time in many many years and Wahlberg is the perfect hot head. To me though, the real standouts are Leo and Matt Damon. Tough you rarely see them on screen together, these two incredibly talented actors weave in and out to make this story work. Decaprio, in his best role to date in my opinion, easily moves from hot head, to paranoid pill popper without ever letting Nicholson out do him, which is not an easy task. Damon on the other hand, is cold and calculated on the inside, yet comes across very jovial and charming. However, his quiet slow unraveling is brilliant to watch and reminds me of watching him in The Talented Mr. Ripley. There is really only one significant female role, played beautifully by Vera Farmiga (Running scared). she plays a shrink who falls for Matt Damon, but is Leo's Shrink and she is wonderful.


The movie runs over 2 and a half hours but only about 10 minutes of the movie are boring or utter nonsense, and it seems like 1 10 minute scene, so be prepared for that and endure it to get back to this amazing piece of cinema.