A swing and a miss is the way I’d describe it. Formulaic. I know what the Italian quattro (Scorcese, Pacino, DeNiro, and Pesci) were thinking: Hey, it worked before; maybe it will work again. The mob. The Kennedys and Castro. DeNiro as an Irish hit man. Hoffa. Music from the 1950s. Voiced-in explanations from the main characters giving the lowdown on each mob dude. Over-restored ‘50s and ‘60s cars. Let’s throw it all against the silver screen for 3½ hours and maybe something will stick (yeah, you read that right: 3½ hours). I know what they were thinking: Goodfellas, The Godfather (and all of its Roman-numeraled follow-ons), and Casino. Yeah, it worked before, so maybe it will work again. Except it doesn’t. Those earlier mob flicks were great. The Irishman is not.
Guys, at some point you have to realize there’s not any milk left in the cow. Even with your digital filtering to make old guys look young, all you gave us were weird, slitty-eyed visions of a younger DeNiro with the body and gait of a senior citizen (where’s Fredo when you need him?). And Pacino playing Hoffa? Another swing and a miss (you should have let the ump call a strike). Jack Nicholson will forever be Jimmy Hoffa; Pacino just wasn’t believable in this role. If you can see it, then hey, I’m the Pope. Al, go back to threatening Mr. Trump. You’re not believable in that role, either, but you apparently know what they say about bad publicity.
Save your money, folks, and hang on to that 3½ hours of your life I’ll never get back. The Irishman is one that should sleep with the fish.
I was going watch it on Thanksgiving Eve…but pecan pie called and then a short nap…and then a mixed drink of rum …and then…to bed. So I will watch this later. All that being said Sean Collins, a buddy of mine in Dunedin gave Martin Scorcese this story idea, he got a thank for it.
Can’t stand DeNiro. Never could. I’ll be sure to avoid this one. Thanks for the review.
I thought he was okay in his younger days. Pacino, too. When they started expressing political opinions, I lost interest. Both are trying to relive their glory days. If they really wanted to do that, they should each buy a motorcycle.
Spot on! (Your critics)
Forced myself into it for about 90 min. for old times sake until I found myself screaming, “this damn thing never ends” At that point I noticed the excruciatingly long movie lenght and hit stop.
At the risk of sounding like a wuss (which I really am) I would recommend y’all consider seeing the Rogers movie, “Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood”. It is a delightful story, based on the true article written by Tom Junod in the Nov 1998 issue of Esquire, “Can You Say…….Hero?”.
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a27134/can-you-say-hero-esq1198/
BTW, thanks for the review of Ford/Ferrari and comment about the documentary. I have that documentary on my “things to find” list to watch.
Gonzo, I am in the theater right now waiting for Mr. Rogers to start.
Hilary and I watched it a couple of days ago. Like Keith an dothers, I am no longer a fan of DeNiro, but I felt he played the role well. The movie was long, like what, three and a half hours? But is was worth watching, IMHO……. There. I said it.
It had a good review in USA Today, too. Different strokes, and all that.