Review: The Departed

One of the greatest moments in life (or at least in a day) is when you wait for a movie to release with high expectations and then find out (after you watched the movie) that the movie is actually much higher than your expectations. And “The Departed” is actually one of those movies. Before you take your seat in the movie theater and you know that what you are about to watch is a Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece (have you seen Gangs of New York), you would realize that would be enough. However, the fun doesn’t stop there when you find out that the movies is portrayed by one of the finest (and probably highest paid) actors in Hollywood such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg, that’s when you finally concluded that you are in for a ride like no other. You are probably wondering, how good is the movie? Well, let’s just say it is so good that I decided to write a review at 3:00AM, straight from the movie theater.

Unspoiled Synopsis

"The Departed" is set in South Boston, where the state police force is waging war on organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Costello (Jack Nicholson). While Billy is quickly gaining Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the gangsters and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy -- and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

My Review

You will have to admit that great movies are few and far between; and Martin Scorsese’s movies are SO few and VERY far between; so missing one of his movies is like missing 10 “averaged-good” movies. The script is very solid from every angle; even though it is extremely structured, yet it will keep your mind actively creating different scenarios for the ending, because every time you think the movie has matched the ending that you had in mind, it will simply reverse what you were expecting. The assembly of the actors is well done and each actor has brought his essences to the maximum and each one has worked his/her character out (even the minor ones). However, when it comes down to it, the actor that totally shined in this movie was none other than Titanic’s heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio. In my opinion, DiCaprio is one of the smartest actors around; early in his acting career, he first reached to the audience (especially to the mass of fan girls) in Romeo + Juliet and The Titanic; wining the heart of millions of people and then he sought love from the critics by the movies that followed. DiCaprio looked so cool in this movie that I wanted to kick everyone who criticized him as “gay” or “feminine” in the time of Titanic. All the audience who attended this movie was touched, moved, and fascinated by him that they even couldn’t stop talking about his phenomenal act after the movie was finished. Another actor that I was totally impressed with was Mark Wahlberg; he finally beat his standers when he shined in the Italian Job four years ago. And Jack Nicholson is Jack Nicholson, there’s no questioning about his abilities, this guy certainly deserves the “three-Oscar winner” title (and I’m still waiting for his fourth win). It was hard for me to point out a favorite scene because the entire movie is filled with favorite scenes, but I must say, the ending will shock you to the very core that your jaw will refuse to accept the messages from your brain to keep it closed; expect an hour of discussion between your friends when the movie is finished.

Watch Or Pass?

Are you kidding? Definitely a must see. So far it is one of the best movies I have seen for this year that you surely don’t want to miss. Hopefully, it will reach the Kuwaiti’s theaters this year and when it does, go and watch the movie with a smile already on your face because what you are about to witness is a masterpiece.

My Rating
A-