Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese)

Gangs of New York is as entertaining as any 3-hour epic swarming with gangs, wars, whores, big characters, street politics and Scorsese-isms must be -- but not as entertaining (nor nearly as rewarding) as one can be. That it's stimulating is obvious; what's less obvious is the obviousness, the slight originality and inspiration. The film has a unique pulse, it is energetic and brilliant, but it doesn't accomplish anything very interesting, cinematically. The setting is fascinating; the film is not. It feels too familiar conceptually, structurally, to ride its backdrop to raving. Of course one acquainted with future Scorsese must be cynical: how can I find profound and thrilling Leonardo DiCaprio infiltrating the rival with natural-born cunning and grit when I've seen The Departed so many times? Even the climaxes feature similar facial expressions. And one acquainted with any revenge film can sleep through this ending (speaking of Leonardo DiCaprio reprising his role in later films....). Gangs of New York may have pioneered something. Even so, its best cinematic virtue is its tone, and by 2002 folks like Tarantino were already making outrageous violence epics. Maybe some things we love wouldn't have transpired the same without it: The Departed, Inglorious Basterds, Daniel Plainview,... We should appreciate how even if techniques that shaped the future weren't invented for this movie, some may have been perfected here. What cocktail of fears would we have seen in Billy Costigan's eyes facing the ignorant Frank Costello if we hadn't first seen it in Amsterdam Vallon's facing the ignorant William Cutting? What wrathful madness in the eyes of Daniel Plainview if not first William Cutting? These are just actor's examples. I like and respect this movie, by the end. I consider it exciting and possibly great. But I expected more. The premise and setting are absolutely thrilling, and all stars align in the crew for an all-time epic. What we have is a basic epic, excellent and obvious. Here's hoping The Irishman is wholly worth its weight.