[A] powerful Mafia genre film with impressive star leads and emotional punch.
Comment
01/01/00
Donnie Brasco (1997)
87
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:52
Fresh:45
Rotten:7
Average Rating:7.8/10
Consensus: A stark, nuanced portrait of life in organized crime, bolstered by strong performances from Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.
Synopsis: Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI mole who integrates himself into the Mafia pecking order by posing as "jewel man" Donnie Brasco. He finds his loyalties divided when Lefty Ruggiero, a jaded hit... [More]
Reviews for Donnie Brasco
Top CriticShows that solid acting and writing can salvage even material that has been covered by much better filmmakers.
08/26/03
Donnie Brasco manages to sidestep the obvious and dwell on the intriguing.
05/14/03
Remains a bore for much of its running time.
01/01/00
Takes us into a world that the movies frequently open to us, but somehow this trip seems more real and less glamorized than most.
01/01/00
A standard-issue mobster movie that rises above the mire of its shopworn genre by showing the cracks in its characters' armor.
01/01/00
It's a good story and an interesting take on trust and friendship, but Donnie Brasco only works for the first hour.
01/01/00
Depp is convincing as the role-playing agent who loses track of his real identity.
02/26/02
It's hard to develop any sympathy for the film's nasty manipulative humans, despite the best efforts of all involved in this newest slant on the mean-streets crowd.
06/05/02
A blue collar gangster movie that succeeds on all attempted levels, particularly acting.
04/09/05
A classy piece of work that may disappoint those looking for something more conventional.
09/17/05
The movie has many human qualities and contains what will be remembered as one of Pacino's finest scenes.
01/01/00
Top CriticMay be the best mob movie in years that was made by somebody whose name is not Scorsese or Coppola.
01/01/00
[Newell and Attanasio] pay as much attention to emotional details as to the clockwork details of mob life.
07/30/07
In the tired figure of Lefty, manifest in the craggy icon of Pacino, our sympathies are definitely enlisted, and the theme rings a poignant note.
04/12/02
One of the most moving and insightful gangster films ever made.
03/05/02
It's gritty, real and totally engrossing.
08/14/02
One fine little character study about crime, friendship and loyalty in gangland New York City.
01/01/00
Tarnishes the shiny veneer of the mob we've seen in earlier movies, holding up its players not as criminal heroes but as cogs in a criminal machine, more worthy of compassion than cheers.
01/01/00
Unfortunately, the story isn't inventive and Newell's methodical approach to it verges on monotony.
08/14/02
Top CriticLatest News for Donnie Brasco
August 16, 2006:
Character Actor Bruno Kirby, Dead at 57
You'd immediately recognize the face (and the voice) from movies like "City Slickers," "Good Morning Vietnam," and "When Harry Met Sally," but you... More...
February 17, 2006:
Newell & Bardem Come Down with "Cholera"
International acting stud Javier Bardem and well-rounded movie director Mike Newell are about to bring the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Love in the Time of Cholera" to the... More...
May 09, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: "Harry Potter Part 4" Teaser
Those who love and admire the Harry Potter books and films, which is pretty much all of us (to one degree or another), will want to head over to Apple Quicktime's Movie Trailer... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
40 Best Films of the 2000s 
Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!
Competitions
Win Funny People on DVD
We're giving away copies of Judd Apatow's latest.
RSS Feeds