"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." - Frank Costello

Dude. Re-visiting this, I didn't nearly expect to like it as much. But there I was, borrowed blu-ray in the PS3, completely agog at this. I remember thinking it was brilliant first time, but the re-watch takes it to a whole other level.

So, let's review:
-Jack Nicholson. Holy bullcrap, Jack Nicholson. Why didn't he win an Oscar for this? He is simply sensational. Starting off slightly unhinged and ending completely barmy, it's a powerhouse performance from the master of powerhouse performances. If you don't believe me, just watch the scene where he imitates a 'gnawing, cheese-eating,…

Even though I had the same issues with it the first time I saw it, it is still a strong entry into the crime genre, sporting some absolutely stunning directorial flair by Scorcese and a handful of excellent performances.

There is one thing Scorcese is a master at and that is structuring a narrative. The plot is not that complex, but the narrative is and the way Scorcese connects the dots and builds tension by carefully unfolding events and interweaving different narrative strands is nothing short of amazing. As simple as cat and mouse plots are, they are not easily told and Scorcese definitely shows what he's made of here.

What I love about Scorcese doing this type of film…

Hmmm.

I don't know how he did it but Scorsese has managed to take a taut, gripping thriller and turn it into, well, a Scorsese film populated by half arsed OTT characterisation and unnecessary violence. The problem here is that we've seen it all before, on two counts. Firstly, anyone who is remotely interested in cinema has seen Goodfellas and I would suspect many have seen Infernal Affairs and this film is pretty much a mash up of the two. Unfortunately, in the mix it was the good, not the bad, that was flushed. The Departed is slow, undramatic and talky where the original cracked along so dramatically that cinemas could have packed in extra seats for the screening because…

There are some people who may argue that The Oscars which were awarded to The Departed were not deserved. That they were mere "Lifetime Achievements" for Mr. Scorsese, and he was being awarded for the greater films of his past, rather than the weaker effort he put out in 2006.

I am not one of those people.

In fact, I call the Departed one of Scorsese's strongest. Scorsese's direction, as well as the script, perfectly illuminates the parallel yet invert lives that Matt Damon's Sullivan and Leo DiCaprio's Costigan live. These two characters, I would argue, are some of Scorsese's most compelling characters, and really should rank up there with the characters of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

Costigan particularly…

The Departed opens with the Rolling Stones classic Gimme Shelter, as a young boy departs innocence to enter the world of organized crime. Also somewhere in there is a grand tracking shot that feels both fresh and familiar. To anyone familiar with his work, it is obvious from the start you are watching a Martin Scorsese film. To some extent this is what is both wrong and right with The Departed. On one hand, you're watching a quality movie by one of the greatest film directors in history, but on the hand you know you're watching a "minor work" that doesn't feel quite as original as his better know pictures, despite the film winning Scorsese his first best director and…