[llabb]

Just found this thread. Posted a lot of thoughts in another thread, but perhaps more appropriate to cross-post here.

Fantastic movie, saw it over the weekend, and absolutely loved it. Some holes here and there, but on the whole, a completely enoyable movie. Was thoroughly entertained, especially the first half, with some great lines, superb acting, and hilarious characters.

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Agree with many here, Marky Mark and Alec Baldwin just owned the scenes they were in, and were hysterically funny - almost too over-the-top even, but somehow they pulled it off and I loved it. Jack was Jack, playing the role he does best. Great performance, although some may be slightly disappointed at not seeing more out of him, seeing him ham it up too much at times, and feeling a little been-there-done-that with his character.

Matt Damon was great and played the part he was written almost perfectly. I've always liked Damon, who consistently turns in quality performances with likeable characters. First time I've seen him take a heel turn, which he also did a great job with.

And in a cast with so many terrific performances, the spotlight was on DiCaprio, who was brilliant with his portrayal of a conflicted, desolate soul. Like most guys, I've never really liked Leo due to Titanic, even though I recognize that he's a great actor. I appreciated his performances in Catch Me If You Can and The Aviator, although I still didn't care for him. But in this movie, due to a character that appeals to guys, I was able to not only appreciate his fine acting, but enjoy his performance. Some people seem to prefer Damon's job with what he had, since Leo has the meatier role and has given similar portrayals already; either way is fine.

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So all-in-all, a great job by a stellar acting cast. As for the feel of the movie, it definitely had the gritty Scorcese/crime drama mood, but it also surprised me with how many comic moments there were, particularly in the first half. As you are getting to know the characters, there is some great dialogue and a lot of lines that had the audience just cracking up, sometimes to where you couldn't catch the next couple things said. The humor skews male, though, since much of it revolves around crudity and profane putdowns.

The graphic violence level was reasonable, although still not for the squeamish. Some cool moments of tension, and a few emotional moments as well. Like someone said, the Alpha Male factor was high, and it just gets you pumped. A total guy's guy's movie, and enjoyable to girls who can take some violence and machismo in a movie. I can see why many girls might not love it, but any guy with a pair had to like it.

On the direction and editing front, I don't know enough about it to be a serious critic, not being a film geek, but I loved a lot of the shots and thought Scorcese managed the movie fairly well. The flow was great, but the pacing a tad slow at times. I can see why some didn't care for a couple parts of the editing, with the choppy cuts, but that's just a stylistic taste.

What's more problematic is the 2.5 hr length when it didn't need to be. Just like King Kong with the insanely long first act, this movie would have been better if it was chopped down a little. The Departed's first act was great, second act a little long, and third act very good (but has a few slightly tired moments because of the slow parts in the second act, so third act would have been seemed better if the second act were trimmed).

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As a stand-alone movie, I thought it was excellent, a solid A and an A+ for acting. Can't see it taking Best Picture, probably not even nominated (although I haven't researched the field) as it's not that kind of movie. That will make it tough for Scorcese to get serious consideration for Best Director.

Got a good shot at acting awards, the main difficulty being where to place each performance. If the studio only pushed one guy each for Best Actor and Best Supporting, they would have a good chance, but that wouldn't be fair to the others, and duplicate entried will diminish the chances of a win. Leo probably nominated for Best Actor and Jack for Supporting, although the performances of Damon and perhaps even Wahlberg hard to ignore. Some are even calling for Jack in the lead category, but that may make things more difficult. The movie as a whole may have a reasonable shot at the Golden Globes' Ensemble acting award, and more top nominations than at the Oscars.

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I loved this movie, but compared to the original, Infernal Affairs, it has some flaws. I came out of the theater amped up, with really high marks, but after discussing it more with friends, came to agree that the original was probably better. I'm not a filmie, but as far as I can tell the distinction, The Departed is a better movie, with better production, flow, and dialogue (hard to compare since original is foreign language), whereas Infernal Affairs is a better film, thematically, emotionally, and psychologically.

For those who don't know, IA took the Asian cinema world by storm and swept the HK Oscars. It paired two of HK's biggest stars, probably bigger than DiCaprio and Damon even, and was a complex psychological crime drama beloved by almost all.

Lots of small differences, but the main differences, as far as I can tell, are the character's psychological developments and the ending. Without giving away the details of the original, since it's worth watching, it's fair to say that the characters are more complex in the original, both have meatier roles, and their motivations and development make you slightly more sympathetic to both. The original is much more about the two leads as equals, and less about the crime boss, whereas The Departed is much more about Leo's character and heightens Jack's persona at the expense of Damon's role. The original also has some more intense moments, with more "will he catch him or not" tension.

I'm not sure how you'll take it if you watch the original after seeing this American remake, but my guess is that you may appreciate it more, but still enjoy The Departed better. This is partially because The Departed is newer, has better production, and is geared more towards American tastes. It's kind of like the difference between a great book that gets made into a movie. If you read a great book first, often times when you see the movie, you really enjoy it, but know it's not quite as good as the book. Whereas when you see the movie first, you like it better, and the book fills in more details and is perhaps a better work of art, but you just plain like the movie because you saw the storyline there first.

As far as the other big difference, I can see why some people here and elsewhere seem to think that the ending of the Departed is a little too much, and comes out of left field. This is because it follows the original IA storyline, but doesn't do as good a job at setting it up, so the ending seems less necessary. The Departed's ending is actually quite similar to IA's alternate ending, primarily because American tastes in general probably can't stomach IA's original ending. Most Asians think that the original IA ending rules hard over the alternate ending. It fits the movie better, and completely makes sense, although it may not appease you as a viewer as much. Again, without giving away details, it's fair to say the the motivations and psychological developments of the original make the ending have much more credibility, and is better than The Departed.

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To sum up, The Departed rules, and Infernal Affairs rules even harder. Go see them.