Departed, The

Aroview: A rip-roaring remake of Hong Kong actioner INFERNAL AFFAIRS, Martin Scorsese returns to the mean streets in this high-performance game of cat-and-mouse between a gang informer in the Boston police force (Damon), and an undercover cop (DiCaprio) infiltrating the organised crime ring of a ruthless Irish mob boss (Nicholson).

Relayed with consummate grit, style, and aggression, Scorsese’s most commercial outing in years is unapologetic when it comes to violence and coarse language, grafting the gangland landmarks of CASINO and GOODFELLAS into an altogether punchier, genre-friendly excursion in crime suspense. With a hefty, overbearingly male supporting cast, it’s little surprise that this is also an angrier film with a largely cynical world view, one filled with corruption, lies, prejudice and bullets to the head. Ultimately, Marty proves that he’s still got it, and does the gangster film better than the rest.

Oscar - Best Picture

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