Written by Briah Krueger
Here it is movie junkies, the kick-off to our 100 Movie Bucket List adventure!
The 2006 action-drama, The Departed, (directed by Martin Scorsese) really took me by surprise. Typically, I am not an action movie person, and I’m not particularly entertained by violence; but this film really reels you in. It’s amazingly well written and cunning plot is drenched in suspense and brought to its intense life by an all-star cast; Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin (to name a few).
Before we get into it, let’s take a short dive into the movie to get a little insight: The Departed follows the lives of two men who both go into the Boston Police Academy, but for completely different reasons. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), is a spy within the Boston police for the victorious mobster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). As the other man we follow in this film, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is undercover through the Boston police to become close to Costello and help bring him and his organisation down.
From the moment the introduction of the movie ends, and the title screen appears, this compelling film takes off. You become so drawn into this world of intense violence and mystery, you honestly forget that you’re watching a movie; you’re just mesmerised. I like to call this the “Genuine Hollywood Effect”. I’ve found that earlier films have this charm and vibe that you just don’t find in most movies today. Not to say that movies made today aren’t good, of course they are; but not all of them capture that “Genuine Hollywood Effect”.
The Departed does have a lot of violent content in it, but its fighting scenes and violence are so well orchestrated. It’s not overdone to the point where you feel sick to your stomach; you actually get a tiny bit of adrenaline going, just by watching the film.
This movie received 4 Oscars, and 1 Golden Globe award, and for very good reason. Its plot has so many layers to it and always catching you by surprise. I literally experienced jaw-dropping moments, one after another. If you aren’t too keen on heavy language, you may not appreciate all the dialogue the movie has to offer. Though I myself am not big on swearing, the cast captures such a blunt and witty humour in the movie that isn’t forced and enhances the story itself. Plus, you’re listening to Boston accents the whole time, so you can turn off the swearing sensor for roughly 2 ½ hours; I promise, it’s well worth it.
Now, time for the big decisions, where does The Departed fall on the movie scale. I’ll be honest, going into the movie I thought “Yeah, this will be a pretty decent movie it has a good starring cast” but by not even the middle of the movie my mind switched to “Holy buckets, this movie is AMAZING, what was I thinking”, I was really taken back! I don’t hand these out lightly, a lot of thought goes into the final decision. The script, film score, camera angles/shots, transition scenes, acting performance, and action choreography and some of the many things taken into consideration.
With all of that said, this movie has rightfully earned its score of 10/10. This was one of the greatest movies I’ve seen in a while that truly brings all the elements of great films together, plus the movie displays fantastic foreshadowing (which I’m a sucker for) and brings the movie in a clever full-circle.
The recipe for The Departed is: Upbeat Irish music, a brilliantly talented cast, Boston accents, intense well-planned violence, fast action, hilariously blunt humour, and lots of flip phone action. If you’re looking for a crime action movie to blow you away, take a bet on The Departed, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
And but of course, here’s our scratch off square from the poster!
If you’re interested in getting this poster for yourself or another fellow movie lover you can find it on Amazon! There are also several posters like this one, such as: 100 Books Bucket List, and 100 Things to Do Bucket List. Let the 100 Bucket List Movie journey begin!
