The Departed

"Grips and shocks and entertains..."

"It has a high body-count and moments of sublime excess; (Scorsese) is on form."

"(The Departed) will never haunt your sleep, as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull do, but it will keep you excited and amused for well over two hours."

"Mussed by extra layers of hierarchy on both sides and a frustratingly over-seasoned climax."

"What makes this a Scorsese film, and not merely a retread, is the director's use of actors, locations and energy..."

"(A) very entertaining, densely layered, just-short-of-fabulous melodrama."

"A profane, blood-drenched joy to watch."

"Very violent, but very, very good."

"This reworking of a popular Hong Kong picture pulses with energy, tangy dialogue and crackling performances from a fine cast..."

"A new American crime classic from the legendary Martin Scorsese, whose talent shines here on its highest beams..."

"Inevitably the story is headed for an unhappy ending but the banal, heavyhanded final shot is the worst of many ill-judged touches. This is not a film Scorsese will be or should be remembered for - though fans of Goodfellas may relish the profligate bloodshed..."

"A ferociously entertaining film..."

"Back to the streets and with a stellar cast, Martin Scorsese proves once again that he’s the master of urban storytelling — and of thrillingly violent filmmaking..."

"From the moment Jack Nicholson's terrifying gang boss pads across screen to the chorus chords of The Rolling Stones' 'Gimme Shelter' ("It's just a shot away"), you can nuzzle back into your seat, safe in the knowledge you're in for a ride. The themes are (self) betrayal, (schizophrenic) identity and (impossible) redemption; the violence is vicious (desert boot beatings); the supporting cast stunning (Wahlberg, Winstone, Baldwin - no, really). As DiCaprio and Damon push themselves to the limit, their characters' fragile sense of self literally disintegrating on-screen, this is a thriller that thrills..."