What the critics say about...Martin Scorsese’s The Departed
October 11 - 18, 2006
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● The performances, carefully orchestrated in an overall ensemble, range from Nicholson’s terrifying combination of menace and charm to the authentic mixture of integrity and sleaziness conveyed by Alec Baldwin’s ageing chief detective.
— Philip French, The Observer ● Martin Scorsese has got his groove back, or most of it, with what is arguably his best picture since GoodFellas: a big, brash, splatteringly violent mob opera. — Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian ● Seeing the respected director back at the top of his game with a movie that could be both commercially and critically successful is a source of jubilation. The movies have been in the doldrums lately; The Departed is a much needed tonic. It’s also one of 2006’s best features. — James Berardinelli, Reelviews ● Too operatic at times, too in love with violence and macho posturing at others, it’s a potboiler dressed up in upscale designer clothes, but oh how that pot does boil. — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times ● There’s no attempt at greatness here, just a fabulously successful attempt at a good crime movie. — Mark LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle ● Watching this new film by Scorsese is tantamount to falling in love again with the brash, cinematic bad boy from New York City. — Mark Savlov, Austin Chronicle