Comparisons to Scorsese's earlier work Goodfellas or Casino, are sure to be made of his latest gangster film The Irishman, but from the start this already felt bigger, with such a hype behind this, it was difficult to avoid. With a 3 and a half hour run time that plenty would baulk at, a limited release in theatres to then put it onto Netflix almost straight away was inevitable.
Written by Elliot Lines
This film flies by, what three plus hour run time you might even say. Incredible really, considering most of which is spent witnessing exchanges between these characters. At no point does this become boring, quite the opposite. The dialogue throughout is gripping, at no moment do you want to take your eyes of the screen, sailing right through this long viewing time.
Depth of the characters is built up all the way through this, you come to learn so much about each and every one you see on screen throughout this story line, which spans over decades. Scorsese manages to use this timeline in a very clever way, you as the viewer are growing old with the characters, you can feel it, the film doesn't let you get away from that feeling of life's slowing down. This is something that is for all to see with plenty of de-aging used, yes at times there were points that were questionable but overall this was use superbly to portray these characters across the decades.
Typically within gangster films you can expect lots of shootouts, plenty of bullets flying around the screen, not here, these scenes are used sparingly, to accompany the story, scenes which are worked in perfectly and have the right amount of impact to really show the power these guys have.
With an all star cast leading this line, each one puts forward a stellar performance, each one adding to the entertainment and gripping nature of this film. The chemistry between Robert, Al and Joe was for all to see, also bouncing off all the other great actors/actresses.
Don't use this run time as an excuse not to watch this, you will regret it. Time flies by as you go through a journey spanning decades, feeling every year of it. This illustrious cast show what can be done with a fantastic script to make it captivating, engrossing and enthralling. Scorsese has put the best aspects of his previous crime films and elevated those ideas to meet new heights.