Film Review - "The Departed"

Yes, I know. Another film that EVERYONE BUT ME has already seen, but figured I'd weigh in on it nonetheless. This was another of those films I picked up for about 2 bucks at the local DVD bootlegging mall, originally as a "gift" for my parents, but now that they've seen it, it was returned to me.

The premise behind "The Departed" is somewhat unique, in that you have two characters that are literally playing polar opposites of each other. The differences are pointed out often enough by Scorcese, and while it's kept simple enough so that anyone can see it, it's also intriguing enough to make you want to see where things are going.

The cast is fantastic, and I have to say that it's one of Matt Damon's better performances to date. Everyone else (Sheen, Nicholson, Baldwin, even Leo and Wahlberg) you've come to expect good things from, but Damon is generally hit or miss for me. He nailed the character perfectly.

The ending (which I won't give away, just in case there's someone out there who hasn't seen this yet) was vintage Scorcese: bloody, brutal and definitely surprising. I certainly didn't see that last twist coming.

Bottom line: I could definitely see this as one of those movies (A Few Good Men, The Shawshank Redemption, A Time To Kill) that I could turn to whenever it's showing on TBS or one of those all-weekend film channels. Very watchable.