Departed (HD) (2006)

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "DiCaprio fully justifies his place as Marty's new muse....[He delivers] THE DEPARTED's most dangerous turn." 11/01/2006 34

New York Times
"The speed and Mr. Scorsese's sureness of touch, particularly when it comes to carving up space with the camera, keep the plot's hall of mirrors from becoming a distraction." 10/06/2006 p.E1-E8

Rolling Stone
4 stars out of 4 -- "The actors bring their A games to this triumphant bruiser of a film, its darkly wanton wit the only defense against complete chaos." 10/19/2006 p.137

Sight and Sound
"[A] juicy and enjoyable gangster picture. It has generous salty humour, tremendous narrative drive, an absorbingly complex plot of multiple betrayal, and a roster of entertaining actors." 12/01/2006 p.53

Box Office
"Martin Scorsese here succeeds in creating a bleak picture with a fatalistic Irish sensibility." 12/01/2006 p.78

Premiere
Included in Premiere's "10 Best Movies Of The Year" -- "[With] enough bravura acting for a dozen such pictures..." 01/01/2007 p.48

Rolling Stone
Ranked #1 in Rolling Stone's "The 10 Best Movies Of 2006" -- "[A] model of what directing is when craft rises to the level of art." 12/28/2006 p.116

Entertainment Weekly
Included in Entertainment Weekly's "Top 10 Films Of The Year" -- "Scorsese's got the best of men at the tops of their games. THE DEPARTED is this year's meatiest movie diversion." 12/29/2006 p.104

Film Comment
Ranked #1 in Film Comment's "20 Best Films Of 2006." 01/01/2007 p.36

Film Comment
"[T]his 'gangster movie' feels like a direct emanation from a society in a state of severe moral disorientation....THE DEPARTED reminds us that if there's truly an enemy, it's within." 01/01/2007 p.38

USA Today
4 stars out of 4 -- "[I]t's a rare treat for moviegoers to see six major actors, all in strong roles, together in one movie." 02/16/2007 p.3E

Ultimate DVD
5 stars out of 5 -- "DiCaprio stands tall, even when sharing the screen with Nicholson....THE DEPARTED is his master class..." 03/01/2007 p.102

Ultimate DVD
5 stars out of 5 -- "[W]ith Nicholson and DiCaprio together on screen for the first time, a performance masterclass is assured." 07/01/2007 p.21

ReelViews 10 of 10
The Departed is a perfect example of why remakes shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. Director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter William Monahan have taken the B-grade Hong Kong crime flick Infernal Affairs and re-imagined it as an American epic tragedy. The original film was gritty and entertaining; the new version is a masterpiece - the best effort Scorsese has brought to the screen since Goodfellas (ending a decade-long drought of disappointments and near-misses). In making The Departed, Scorsese has retained the essential plot structure of Infernal Affairs but has transformed the movie into something truly his own...The Departed is as suspenseful as anything the director has previously achieved. This movie deserves mention alongside Scorsese's most celebrated movies: Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and The Age of Innocence. - James Berardinelli
 
Variety 9 of 10
Mixing it up with modern mobsters for the first time since "Casino" 11 years ago, Martin Scorsese cooks up a juicy and bloody steak of a movie in "The Departed." Different from the director's earlier crime dramas in its shared focus on cops rather than on just the goodfellas, this reworking of a popular Hong Kong picture pulses with energy, tangy dialogue and crackling performances from a fine cast...For those who want reassurance Scorsese is re-embracing the "GoodFellas" aesthetic, it's there right at the outset. With the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" setting the mood, an imposing man addresses a nice Irish kid at a working class soda fountain and presses money into the kid's hand, enticing the boy into his circle...DiCaprio is outstanding as the audience's main point of emotional contact...In his third collaboration with Scorsese, DiCaprio has rarely been this vital, energized or passionate. - Todd McCarthy