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Movies / Upcoming / The Departed
The Departed

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The Departed (2006)

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Reviews Counted:225

Fresh:207

Rotten:18

Average Rating:8.2/10

Consensus: The Departed is a thoroughly engrossing gangster drama with the gritty authenticity and soupy morality that has infused director Martin Scorceses past triumphs. Featuring outstanding work from an excellent cast that includes Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon, some critics say the film even tops its source material (the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs). The Departedmarks a triumphant return to form for Scorsese; it's his best-reviewed film since GoodFellas.

Runtime: 2 hrs 31 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $132,310,442

Synopsis: Director Martin Scorsese returns to his trademark style with the violent, bruised, and bloody feature THE DEPARTED. Scorsese filched the basic storyline from Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak's... Director Martin Scorsese returns to his trademark style with the violent, bruised, and bloody feature THE DEPARTED. Scorsese filched the basic storyline from Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak's masterful 2002 Hong Kong action film, INFERNAL AFFAIRS, which saw a policeman going undercover as a mob member and a mob member infiltrating the police force. Scorsese transfers the action to Boston, positioning Leonardo Di Caprio as undercover cop William Costigan and Matt Damon as undercover mobster Colin Sullivan. While Costigan and Sullivan get into plenty of nail-biting situations that almost reveal their true identities, Scorsese gradually unravels his strong supporting cast, including Jack Nicholson as Sullivan's mob boss, Frank Costello; Ray Winstone as Costello's meat-headed muscle; Mark Wahlberg as a hot-headed police sergeant; and Vera Farmiga as a love interest for both Damon and DiCaprio's characters. THE DEPARTED finds Scorsese generously dipping his toes back into waters that will be warmly familiar to his biggest fans. Rolling Stones songs pepper the soundtrack, recalling the remarkable "Jumpin' Jack Flash" sequence in MEAN STREETS; bullets and blood punctuate every key scene, bringing TAXI DRIVER's explosive finale to mind; and the mobster-themed storyline is a thrilling return to GOODFELLAS territory. Nicholson and Winstone provide acting master-classes every time they appear, neatly complementing the blossoming talents of DiCaprio, Damon, and Wahlberg, while further veteran support comes in small roles for Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin. Scorsese is often criticized for affording precious little screen time to female characters, and THE DEPARTED won't quell those dissenting voices, although Farmiga's character proves to be more than a match for DiCaprio and Damon's posturings. But Scorsese followers who balked at his diversions into documentary filmmaking (NO DIRECTION HOME) and period epics (THE AVIATOR) will be delighted to find raw male machismo puncturing the screen once again in this frenetic entry into his celebrated oeuvre. [More]

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Vera Farmiga

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Vera Farmiga, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin

Director: Martin Scorsese

Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriter: William Monahan, Siu Fai Mak, Felix Chong
Producer: Jennifer Aniston, Brad Grey, Brad Pitt, Graham King
Composer: Howard Shore
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for The Departed

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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A tough and gritty crime thriller, tossing up the issue of morality before shooting it down in a cascade of bullets . a piece of explosive cinema.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
11/10/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
10/21/06
In Film Australia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A great film? To some degree. Great fun? Absolutely. One of the year's best films? Most certainly

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
10/10/06
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is a Martin Scorsese film of the classic sort. It has a high body-count and moments of sublime excess; the master is on form.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
10/08/06
Paul Byrnes
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film is superbly shot, and the rapid-fire editing and shaky camera fit the constant flux that the main characters find themselves in time and again.

Full Review Source: Film and Felt | comment Comment
09/19/09
Gabe Leibowitz
Gabe Leibowitz
Film and Felt

You must understand farce before you can understand tragedy, and Scorsese understands both

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/28/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Much splat, little art

Full Review Source: JWR | comment 4 Comments
07/23/09
S. James Wegg
S. James Wegg
JWR
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/20/08
Brian Marder
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com

Scorsese has made an incredible cover version of the original, imbued with every ounce of his artistic personality transforming it into something both familiar and new.

Full Review Source: Beyond Hollywood | comment Comment
04/18/08
Brian Holcomb
Brian Holcomb
Beyond Hollywood

The Departed heralds Martin Scorsese's return to the top of his game and simultaneously secures for the film a place in the pantheon of the very best of American crime cinema. Welcome back to Scorsese's mean streets.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

The story rattles along at such a lick there's little time to ponder the plot holes -- no mean feat in a film of this length and with so many fine actors competing for our attention.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/20/08
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Channel 4 Film

... a fantastically entertaining crime thriller, crackling with energy from beginning to end. ... But Nicholson's outrageous over-acting becomes a distraction.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
09/21/07
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

Scorsese revisits old territory in The Departed, and he doesn't do anything he hasn't done brilliantly several times before.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment 6 Comments
07/30/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Scorsese is clearly a master filmmaker but in my opinion, he's only phoning it in here. THE DEPARTED is a matter of been there, done that. Second tier Scorsese is still good, it just doesn't rank up there with his best work.

Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/14/07
Ted Murphy
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews

Probably the director's most taut piece of storytelling since Goodfellas.

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

What makes this a Scorsese film, and not merely a retread, is the director's use of actors, locations and energy, and its buried theme. I am fond of saying that a movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
07/06/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sometimes accused of failing to harness the kinetic energy that abounds in his films, Martin Scorsese has done such a fine job of balancing the heat and the cold here.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
04/28/07
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

The Departed doesn't improve in any way on Infernal Affairs, which served up a return to stylish Hong Kong action.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment 16 Comments
03/30/07
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

Scorsese takes William Monahan's brilliant adaptation and completely makes it his own, resulting in not only one of the best movies of the year but also one of the best of his amazing career.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
03/24/07
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
UGO
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Departed

December 29, 2008: Scorsese Rounds Up Departed Gang for New Mafia Pic Opens in new window
According to the Boston Herald, Martin Scorsese is plotting a return to Mafia territory for his next project -- to tell the story of hitman-turned-snitch John Martorano. More...

April 09, 2008: Total Recall: The 10 Most Corrupt Cops in Movies
In honor of David Ayer's Street Kings we did a little bad-to-worse survey of the boys who soil their blue. Some of them are hot, some of them caustic, but all of them are... More...

March 04, 2008: Rush Hour 3 Takes '07 DVD Rental Crown
It may not have been quite the box-office phenomenon that its predecessors were -- and critics may have disliked it enough to keep it down at 20 percent on the Tomatometer --... More...

January 24, 2008: Box Office Guru Preview: Rambo Leads Army of New Films Into Battle
The resurrection of yesterday's movie heroes continues with Sylvester Stallone's new film Rambo which finds the vet in Southeast Asia where he is pulled into another battle with... More...

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