Accurate Hype

So many things could've gone wrong with The Departed. These kinds of movies come along, where you have all this excitement built up, and of course there's the all-star ensemble, but then you see it, and sure, it might be reasonably entertaining, but it lets you down. It's just not that engaging. (Oceans 11, I'm looking at you)

This is not that kind of movie.

This flick is a real masterpiece. The acting is superb. The story, beautifully written. The presentation is brilliantly done. This is the kind of film that allows you to fall for the other over-hyped films on the off chance you get to see something like this.

The story goes something like this. Nicholson is a bad guy.  No, scratch that, he's THE bad guy. Sort of a mob kingpin if you will. The law, of course, wants to bring him down. DiCaprio and Damon are both cops.  DiCaprio, a wash-out, who's ultimately given the task of infiltrating Nicholson's group. Damon, an officer whose star is rising, but who happens to be a plant on the force, and who ultimately answers to Nicholson. That's the set up, and from there, it's a tale of intrigue to discover who'll uncover what about whom and when. There's nary an uninteresting moment, and we're treated to twists and turns aplenty.

This is a brilliant film.  With a tightly scripted story and brilliant performances, I highly recommend giving this a viewing.