My problems with The Departed (open spoilers)

[beowulff]

We saw Infernal Affairs I at the PSFF, and I thought it was great. My wife didn’t care for it, because she thought it was “too Hollywood…”

Anyone who liked The Departed (and doesn’t mind subtitles) should see it.

[vivalostwages]

I know I watched The Departed but I can’t remember a damn thing about it.

I guess I didn’t care for it.

[DudleyGarrett]

@Stranger On A Train

I agree with you and was totally underwhelmed by the film. Critics seemed to be universally saying that it was Scorsese’s “comeback”, his best film since Goodfellas, et cetera. I thought it was weak, disjointed, and failed to make me care about any of the characters. Casting Jack Nicholson as a Southie Irish gangster was an utter miss as far as I’m concerned–he came off as just another rendition of “Jack”–and while Alec Baldwin was brilliantly hilarious in playing a variation on Blake from Glengarry Glen Ross, he totally pulled me out of the film every time. I’d rather watch Casino, The Aviator, or even The Gangs of New York again than this film. And while the Best Director and Best Picture Awards were long, long overdue, they should have been issued retroactively for Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, The Age of Innocence, or even Goodfellas rather than this film.

A big wet noodle of a film, and I agree with the o.p. that I can’t understand why people are so ga-ga over it. Scorsese has done vastly superior if underappreciated work.

Stranger

I totally agree with your assessment. Being Irish and growing up around there, I was really looking forward to seeing the movie, and left the theater totally disappointed. Another thing about Hollywood that I don’t get, why can’t anyone do a fucking Massachusetts accent (particularly a south shore accent in this case)? Mark Wahlberg being from Dorchester could obviously do it, but even Matt Damon’s was a little off (he’s from the People’s Republic of Cambridge and from what I can tell never really had an accent). Everyone else’s accent in this movie was either non-existent or horrendous.

[An_Gadai]

State of Grace was a similar enough film but was superior IMHO. It’s set amongst New York Irish gangsters.