Reviews of The Departed--WTF??

[StlKj]

Okay, I love movies. I'm an intelligent person. I can even be pretty accepting of a film's flaws.

But how in the hell did The Departed end up with a 92% freshness rating on RottenTomatoes.com?? Did they see the same film I did?

I was so psyched to see this movie. Excellent cast in a Martin Scorsese film. Had to be bankable, right? Wrong. It was one of the most contrived and convoluted movies I've seen in years. Subplots that came out of nowhere. Characters who are seemingly unimportant who later spring out of nowhere. Scenes where things happen and you wait for the payoff, and it is never shown as it disppeared into, you guessed it, nowhere. Stereotypes abound, racist and anti-gay comments continually assault the viewer, and only one character in the whole film is likable in any way (Dicaprio really shows why he's a better actor than most of the rest of the cast).

The ending is so over the top that the sizable audience I saw the movie with was laughing as characters began getting killed left and right. My friends and I left feeling angry and abused, and we wondered if this was intentionally Scorsese's first real comedy. People standing outside the theater were intelligently discussing how bad the movie was.

Then I come home and it has a freaking 92% on rottentomatoes.com. I don't get it. Are we so hard up these days for good films that a great cast and a usually phenomenal director just get great reviews regardless of the film's quality?

What a disappointment.

 

[miztab13]

I've only heard good things about this movie.

 

[StlKj]

I've only heard good things about this movie.

Well, count me among the first to give a dissenting view.

 

[StlKj]

Are you sure you saw the same movie the critics reviewed?????



Critics Reviews Average Grade: A-


USA Today
Claudia Puig "Two and a half hours race by as this twisting, turning tale blazes its exciting, funny, brutal path." more... A-

hty2,

This review is amazing to me too--"race by?" This movie even failed the ass test; that's where my ass begins to tell me that it's grown uncomfortable sitting and needs to shift every ten to fifteen minutes.

Not the most reliable method of film criticism, I know.

 

[lonnie1]

This is undoubtedly the best movie of the year so far. It is a very original, witty, extremely acted, directed and edited movie and will probably be up for many Oscars. Don't miss it.

 

[JMinhK]

I really liked this movie a great deal. It was convoluted and tricky, but the acting, the directing, and the story were outstanding.

Honestly, the racist and gay comments didn't bother me as much because these were the way these people talked and behaved. They were equal oppurtunist bigots. I'm not excusing it, but it didn't grate on my nerves.

As for the laughter near the blood bath at the end, I, too, heard it when I went and saw it. However, I think it was nervous and shock laughter. All of the violence was shocking and unexpected. It wasn't the way anyone thought things would turn out. Besides the nervous laughter, I also heard comments of disbelief and "Oh my God!" Nobody was laughing because it was funny.

It's too bad you disliked the movie so much, because I truly feel it's one of the best I have seen so far this year.

 

[luminum]

This is undoubtedly the best movie of the year so far. It is a very original, witty, extremely acted, directed and edited movie and will probably be up for many Oscars. Don't miss it.

If by unique, you mean the Chinese movie it's based off of--Infernal Affairs).

No matter what, I think I'll like Infernal Affairs better. And if you ever get a chance to see Infernal Affairs and you like it, the sequal is also really good, since it's about the two undercovers when they were younger and what happened before the setting of the first movie.

The third one I have no idea.

 

[Jubilayhee]

I liked the movie except for the ending. I wished they gave it a more happier ending instead of the grim one they gave us.

 

[JesseNYC]

Ive only heard good things about the movie and it opened at #1 at the box-office.

 

[gaz1978]

Its a great movie. DiCaprio surprised me at how good he was. Nicholson was amazing, as usual, and there were plenty of shocks and twists to keep you guessing.

One of my top 5 films of 2006...

As for people complaining about the racist and homophobic dialogue...

ITS A GANGSTER FILM for christ sake!!! They're not nice people!
Nicholson's character is a racist because he's a 70 year old mobster. Damon and DiCaprio use homophobic jibes because they're COPS and thats what they are like. Its intimidatory tactics.

You cant always watch films about nice liberal people all the time! lol.

 

[Just_Believe18]

The movie follows the ancient Greek formula of the Tragedy.

It was a good movie. I'm a little surprised to how highly rated it was by critics, imdb.com, etc. I think it turns off some people just because of how violent it is and Jack Nicholson was truly a character rendition of the Devil.

 

[markpacs]

It Isn't The Original It's Only A Remake.....

you should watch the original trilogy...Infernal Affairs 1, 2 and 3
i think personally it's better than the remake.....very good character development..

btw, the leader of the chinese gang is one of the main cast of the original film

 

[Spellbound]

I loved the movie.

 

[bigpayback]

I guess this just proves that we all have opinions.

 

[StlKj]

Wow. I've never really felt so disconnected from popular opinion on a film before. Maybe my disappointment with so many films today is making me set the bar way too high. I think perhaps Hollywood has mortally wounded my love of film to the point where even when I am looking forward to a movie, the flaws stand out too much. It's October, and I've seen far less movies at this point than I would have in past years, and I've enjoyed far less as well.

I appreciate you guys sharing your viewpoints on the film.