The Departed (2 Discs)

I had heard great things about this film but missed it at the cinema. I got it on DVD and was looking forward to a 'Scormeister' classic. All through the film, with the exception of trying not to find Jack's gangster caricature and half-baked copy of Marlon Brando too laughable, I found the whole thing very familar - and then it clicked it was a frame for frame copy of the excellent Infernal Affairs. Except this was totally useless. Pointless subplots that add nothing and often go nowhere, lazy attempts at changing the story line, over-bearing 'mood' music, useless accents. Such great talents wasted. The whole depth and personal conflict completely lost by bad direction and Leonardo and Matt's one dimensional bad and good cops. See the original, but dont waste your money on this waste of shelf space. What was the director thinking - where's his flair and originality gone? - and the critics who praised it! They just cant have seen the original IA as many don't even mention it in their… more »

I had heard great things about this film but missed it at the cinema. I got it on DVD and was looking forward to a 'Scormeister' classic. All through the film, with the exception of trying not to find Jack's gangster caricature and half-baked copy of Marlon Brando too laughable, I found the whole thing very familar - and then it clicked it was a frame for frame copy of the excellent Infernal Affairs. Except this was totally useless. Pointless subplots that add nothing and often go nowhere, lazy attempts at changing the story line, over-bearing 'mood' music, useless accents. Such great talents wasted. The whole depth and personal conflict completely lost by bad direction and Leonardo and Matt's one dimensional bad and good cops. See the original, but dont waste your money on this waste of shelf space. What was the director thinking - where's his flair and originality gone? - and the critics who praised it! They just cant have seen the original IA as many don't even mention it in their reviews. Basically less than one out of ten!