THE DEPARTED

"When I was your age, they would say you could become cops or criminals. What I'm saying is this: When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?"

Frank Costello

Boston is over run with crime. Irish mobster Frank Costello (Nicholson) is the State Police's number one target but they need to get some close to him to make a case against him and his organisation. Captain Oliver Queenan (Sheen) has selected rookie Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), who has family connections to the Irish community, to infiltrate Costello's inner circle. Costello had his own plan however. He was going to put his own man inside the Boston State Police and Colin Sullivan (Damon) would put him one step in front of the law.

Hollywood fascination with remaking hit Asian movies continues but could the Tinsel Town version of the brilliant 'Infernal Affairs' be better than the Hong Kong original?

The 'Infernal Affairs' trilogy is rightly rated as one of the best crime thrillers of recent years. The ingenious plotline that shows the inner workings of the Triads and the Hong Kong police as both of them tries to discover who was the undercover operative inside each organisation. The second film revealed the backstory that led up to the first movie and the third dealt with the repercussions of the events that happened at the end of the original film. This was groundbreaking cinema for Asia and these three movies would set the standard for everything else to follow. Hollywood took notice.

As the original script becomes a dying breed, Hollywood continues to turn foreign markets to find stories that it could transport to the US and recreate the same hit for English speaking audiences. This is worked many times before with smash hits like 'The Magnificent Seven', 'The Ring' and many others but this doesn't always guarantee success. 'The Departed' is a little different however because Martin Scorsese is involved.

One of the most critically acclaimed and influential filmmaker of his generation, Martin Scorsese was one of the new wave of directors who reinvigorated American cinema in 1970s. Along with Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Brian De Palma and Steven Spielberg, Scorsese changed cinema forever with movies like 'Mean Streets', 'Taxi Driver' and 'Raging Bull'. It was his forays into the stories of organised crime with 'Goodfellas' and 'Casino' that really opened him up to mainstream audiences. After that he struggled to find a huge hit however with commercial failures like 'Kundun', 'Gangs of New York' and 'The Aviator', even though the critics praised them. 'The Departed' sees him return to the world of organised crime and back to the height of his powers.

Relocating the movie to Boston and exchanging the Triads for the Irish mob, the film keeps the same premise as the original and adds that Scorsese touch. Fans of the original trilogy appreciate the amount of respect this remake pays to 'Infernal Affairs'. While there are some changes, both additions and subtractions the essence of the story that made Hollywood take notice in the first place. Scorsese returns to the uncompromising style that announced him to the cinema world. Mixing extreme violence and bad language, 'The Departed' shows both sides of the law and the consequences of the actions of both of the undercover insurgents.

As always Martin Scorsese and his creative team have gathered together an astounding cast to bring the US version of this intriguing story to life. Scorsese favourite Leonard DiCaprio provides one of this best performances of his career as undercover cop Billy Costigan. This could be the role that finally allows him to shed his baby face image that has plagued him for his entire career. There is no argument that he is a fine actor but could be slightly too good-looking to play some of the roles that he has approached. Matt Damon's career keeps going from strength to strength. His role choices have been superb over the last few years and have given him the opportunity to show what a versatile actor he can be. As undercover mob plant Colin Sullivan in the Boston State Police, he gets to play a villain and show a darker side to his talents. The supporting cast is equally as talented. Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg are excellent as Billy undercover supervisors Captain Oliver Queenan and Sgt. Dignam. Ray Winstone is brilliant as Frank Costello's right hand man Mr. French. The British actor really sinks his teeth into the character and excels in the violent scenes, as you'd expect.

It is the performance of Jack Nicholson as Irish mob boss Frank Costello that is the talking point of the movie. Upgraded to a much larger part than in the original, Nicholson brings his trade make brilliance to a character you cannot help but like, even though you know it is very, very wrong. While it become slightly too over the top as the film progresses, lapsing into 'Joker' mode at some points, his performance is as riveting as ever, proving again that he is one of the cinematic greats.

'The Departed' is a rarity, a remake that is just as good as the original. While 'Infernal Affairs' fans will notice some major changes to certain plot points and an unnecessary love triangle involving Vera Farmiga's character Madolyn, this only makes this version different enough for those who have watched the Hong Kong trilogy to get something new out of this movie. This is Martin Scorsese back to his very best however and he produces a movie that crime thriller fans should not miss.

Infernal Affairs

Infernal Affairs II

Infernal Affairs III

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2006