The Irishman (2019) User Reviews

The Last Of Its Kind

[redcanofevil · 8/10 · 28 November 2019]

I don't know where to start on this one other than thanking Netflix for being the only distributor to fund this movie so we could see Big screen legends take their last big swing. The set and screen is smaller than I liked it to be, it being released on a streaming site but it's better than never seeing it.

It's not a flawless movie and I wouldn't necessarily call it a masterpiece or something new and innovative. But for an old genre gangsta flick it's easily one of the best ones out there.

The plot is a lot like Godfather 2 from De Niros perspective but that's all there is. It is more grounded and far too subtle compared to Goodfellas. And that's a good thing considering the age of the lead actors in the movie. But that doesn't mean its dull, gray and dreary because it isn't. It is surprisingly humorous, has some very serious scenes and doesn't shy away from giving us a blast of nostalgia every now and then.

The cinematography is quite different from the usual modern movies we are accustomed to. It doesn't have an overabundance of Wes Anderson symmetric shots or Roger Deakins like Wide angle shots. The film was shot in a very old timey way with the camera pans and edits. The editing in the movie is great and the score is fitting. Technical aspects considered it isn't innovative or something jawdropping, but that was never supposed to be the main focus of the movie.

The main focus for me was absolutely the acting. And why wouldn't it be with a cast like this? Al Pacino and Robert De Niro for the 1st time on screen together since Heat. Joe Pesci and De Niro since Goodfellas. Joe Pesci coming out of retirement and Martin Scorsese directing all these legends on screen together! If this doesn't get you excited for this film then I'm afraid nothing will.

Speaking of acting my god do they act! Robert De Niro gives his best performance in his older age with this. Joaquin Phoenix was a top contender for best Actor Oscar and I agreed with that but after watching THE IRISHMAN everything changed. Robert De Niro basically steals his Oscar like a gangsta and gives the best performance of the year so far. Old Bobby here still giving top notch actors a run for their money and the guy is 76 years old!

When was the last time you saw Al Pacino give a really good performance? Well that's exactly what he does here and it feels so good to see him find his glory days. He is his usual shouty self but shines better when he tones it down and let expressions speak.

And boy have I missed Joe Pesci over the years and don't worry he's still intense as usual. And that's weird considering he is extremely toned down in this movie. If you're looking for a violent Joe Pesci like he was in Goodfellas you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for an intimidating Pesci with a huge presence then you're in the right place.

Harvey Keitel is in the movie for a very short time but he did his job fantastically. Ray Romano was a surprising standout and I can't believe how he kept up on the same plane as some of these industry legends. He doesn't really have a bigger role and basically gets lost as the film progresses but he made the most of his screentime.

The film is 3hours and 30 minutes long but it never felt that long honestly. The first 2 hours went by a breeze but the 3rd hour was unapologetically slow. It felt a bit dragged on during the final hour and felt it was skipping ahead at the same time. it wasn't boring in any way but felt it could've been handled better. The CGI de-aging is so good that after a while you get confused how old the lead actors actually are. This is the best de-aging tech I've ever seen honestly.

Despite it being slow in the latter end it still is a fantastic film. It doesn't set out to do something different, it doesn't try to set it aside from the herd. Scorsese did what he does best and made the movie he wanted to make. Its more of a last big hurrah for these living legends than something out to be a flawless masterpiece. It will most likely be the last of its kind and also the last collaboration of Scorsese with these acting legends. Considering the time we are in this might as well be the last Scorsese film, it most definitely is the last Joe Pesci appearance in a movie and the last good mobster hit with genre legends like Al Pacino and De Niro. So enjoy it while you can and savor it. Remember this movie 10 years from now and rejoice that you were alive to witness something truly fantastic. THE IRISHMAN is a farewell for most of these legends and a loveletter to the genre. It's the last of its kind and it went out in true mobster style.

The Scorsese format still works decades later.

[aGlassofCinema_com · 9/10 · 28 September 2019]

I was able to attend the NYC premiere this afternoon. Now that I've gotten over the shock of seeing so many celebrities, I'm able to happily to say that this movie, while being quite long, deserves to be remembered as one of Scorsese's great films.

The Irishman reminds me a bit of Tarantino's recent hit Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, both because it's a period piece and also because you need to know a little history to understand the direction of the narrative. The movie, while following Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) as the titular character, revolves around Teamsters union boss James Riddle Hoffa (played with intense and hilarious fervor by Al Pacino). Fortunately Frank goes to great lengths to narrate the story for the audience and provides a healthy dose of context for those of us not from the Kennedy era. The main thing you need to know going in is that Jimmy Hoffa had mob ties, and that he vanished in 1975 and was presumed murdered by mob bosses for being "uncooperative".

The movie unfolds over four acts, told over several decades by Frank Sheeran. In act one, Frank is introduced as a WWII veteran who is stuck driving food delivery trucks in and around Philadelphia. He has the bright idea to steal some of the steaks that he's delivering, and sell them to local mobster Felix "Skinny Razor" DiTullio (Bobby Cannavale). Eventually his brazen willingness to break the law catches the eye of Italian mob boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), who happens to be a mobster on a national level. His calm demeanor is both comical yet terrifying. A soon to be classic line encompasses Bufalino perfectly: "You might be demonstrating a failure to show appreciation." Under his mentorship, Frank becomes a ruthless action man for the italian mob and explains with rather entertaining dispassion how he does his job properly. In act two, Russell introduces Frank to Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), the outspoken and fearless president of the National Teamsters Union. Their relationship grows and Hoffa becomes Frank's second mentor. Together they use intimidation and bribery to gain influence until the election of John Kennedy, who subsequently appoints his brother Bobby Kennedy as Attorney General and immediately goes after Hoffa.

The first two and a half hours are the most fun, and in particular the end of act three is some of the most tense and dramatic storytelling that I have had the pleasure of seeing in recent memory. At a dinner celebration for Frank (who eventually becomes a Teamster boss himself), tensions between Hoffa, Bufalino and the other mobsters reaches a breaking point, and the decision is made to make Hoffa disappear. But in a gut wrenching twist, Frank is the one tasked to do the job. In a beautiful display of cinematography over a thirty-minute buildup, Scorsese forces the viewer to the edge of their seats with the dread of what's about to happen. Robert De Niro's performance in these moments is master class; the inner conflict is all the more apparent thanks all of the time we spent watching Frank being raised by Bufalino and Hoffa in equal measure. I plan to watch this part of the film again, probably with a notepad.

Getting away from the plot a bit, the movie is actually surprisingly funny. In one particular scene, someone insults an older Bufalino at a dinner reception. He and Frank exchange glances, and the frame suddenly cuts to a hotel bed covered in guns. Frank then narrates with excess detail and hilarious dispassion the ideal weapon for a public assassination. Moments like these are littered throughout the film and keep it from getting too bogged down in it's violence. It's impressive how quickly jokes fly, given the disproportionate amount of people getting shot point blank in the head. But anyone who has seen Scorsese's Goodfellas or The Departed will feel right at home.

The heart of the movie is definitely Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. De Niro was de-aged with apparently exorbitantly priced CGI, as he is supposed to be younger than both Pacino and Pesci. While it's fairly obvious, I was never too distracted to not enjoy what was unfolding onscreen. Plus he's kind of made a career of holding one scowling facial expression, so that probably was a little easier to edit. Al Pacino is a riot as Hoffa, and is certainly one of the most arrogant, over-the-top characters that Pacino has played in awhile. Pesci as Bufalino is chilling, and it's fun to seem him as the boss in this gangster movie after being a junior-level mobster in Goodfellas so many years ago. The mentorship between De Niro's character and both Pacino and Pesci is amazingly entertaining.

The only thing keeping me from calling this movie perfect is it's length. Three hours and (almost) thirty minutes is a very long time, and while occurring infrequently the movie does drag a bit. This is most apparent in the fourth act where Frank introspects during his final years, and attempts to achieve reconciliation for all the murders he's committed. It doesn't really offer any closure or seem necessary to wrapping up the narrative.

Ultimately that doesn't even come close to making me not recommend seeing The Irishman. There's a reason Martin Scorsese will forever be known for his gangster movies. Combining comedy, violence, brotherhood and drama, he has created a formula that continues to work. The fact that he continues to make excellent movies at 76 years old blows my mind. Well done.

Review the Movie, not the Director

[stephen-624 · 7/10 · 7 November 2019]

Peoples are losing their minds over the sainted director, forgetting the movie. Sure, it's well made, fascinating history. But it's second nature for De Niro, and Pacino overreaches at times. The third reel is repetitive over the decline of the De Niro character. Would be a better movie at 2hr 30. In fact, I thought it had ended about then, but it meandered on another hour.

Great

[chevallierjulien · 10/10 · 30 November 2019]

The last 5 minutes of the movie explain everything. 2 things:

1- The photo of his daughter and Jimmy. These 2 persons are these ones that he loves the most. It reminds him how he lost them both. Frank killed his best friend and he lost his daughter after she understood he did it.

2- The door half open at 1 minute before the end. Jimmy used to let the door of his bedroom open because he trusted Frank. Frank broke the trust and as a result he could never talk to his daughter again. This door represent the trust, and show that trust must never be broken. Trust is even more important than love because without trust there can be no real love.

Great movie, great actors, congratulations Mr Scorsese.

It's brilliant, but best to go in with as few expectations as possible

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 10/10 · 8 November 2019]

When I love a movie as much as I loved The Irishman, I feel torn. On one hand, I want to review it and rave about it and try to convince others to see it. But then on the other hand, I realise that doing so could set expectations too high, which could then lead to some people getting disappointed (this happens a lot with horror movies that get hyped at film festivals and then rejected by disappointed wide audiences, like with The Witch, It Follows, and Hereditary).

So that leaves me in a tricky situation, and I'll compromise by praising the film as much as I can without overhyping, whilst also making vague comments that won't be specific enough to ruin what the film has to offer (because yes: it's a Scorsese film. He has an incredibly varied filmography when you break down just what he's made over the last half-century, and so you're never going to get exactly what you'd expect).

Okay, acting: phenomenal. Besides Goodfellas, Pesci's best performance ever. This is the best De Niro's been since Cape Fear. This is the best Al Pacino has been in at least three decades. These men are old, and all accomplished and wealthy enough to retire happily at this point, but thankfully they all agreed to not only star in this movie, but commit themselves 100%. No one's phoning it in here. While the supporting cast are uniformly solid, these three steal the show and I hope all get Oscar nominations come awards season.

Scorsese, to no one's surprise, directs brilliantly throughout, making every scene purposeful and captivating. The movie is long, but deservedly so. The various pay-offs towards the film's conclusion would not hit nearly as hard if the film didn't spend so long building character, suspense, and emotion.

As crude as it might sound, this movie- at about the halfway point- made me forget how badly I needed to use the theatre's restroom. At a certain point, I accepted that I couldn't miss a second, and leaving the room for even a moment was totally out of the question.

If you can see this at a cinema, and can handle three and a half hours without a toilet or snack break (no intermission!), then by all means, watch it on a big screen, because it's beautiful and ultimately the best way to experience a film of this scope and spectacle. But it'll be on Netflix soon, and perhaps some would prefer to watch it in the comfort of their own home, where snack/toilet breaks are possible.

Whatever you do, make sure you ultimately watch it. Films like this don't come around too often, and this is such a perfect swan-song for this talented group that I doubt we'll see these legends together again.

It's bittersweet, but if this is Scorsese's, De Niro's, Pacino's and Pesci's farewell to the crime genre, then it's an amazing note to go out on.

Latest entry in the Emperor's New Clothes Club

[horrorgasm · 2 December 2019]

You have to be absolutely out of your mind to legitimately think that this is Scorcese at his best and ignore all the flaws in this movie. Yes, I get it, he made a lot of great movies in his time, but this isn't one of them.

A scene early on with Deniro beating someone up sums up the movie pretty well. The random no-name actor getting beat up is the only one exhibiting any emotion, as Deniro's character and his daughter sleepwalk their way through the scene like most of the cast does through most other scenes. It can be a bit hard to tell though since the camera zooms out so far that you can hardly see their faces, probably in an effort to avoid using the piss poor de-aging effects during an "action" scene, but it doesn't much matter because it's still close enough that we can see Deniro noticeably physically struggling to get through the scene. It looks awful and its depressing to see Deniro like this and to realize that Scorcese thought this scene was ok like this (why would they not have just used a stand-in here?), and this is pretty much how the movie feels in general.

This is a very noticeably weak effort from Scorcese. Most of the characters are wooden and just seem bored to be there. Pesci and Deniro are shockingly lifeless here. Pacino seems to be the only one giving any effort, but even his performance only comes off like a pale imitation of his old self.

Again, the de-aging effects are very weak and it's pretty jarring to see the flashback version of Deniro's character be referred to as if he's a young man (Pesci even calls him KID), but still looks like he's about 50.

There are a ton of side characters introduced, most of which disappear immediately after their introductions and serve no real purpose. Likewise there are many vestigial scenes that serve no purpose to advance either plot or character.

The plot is of course your typical gangster fare that we've seen from Scorcese so many times already. Guy gets into a life of crime, rises in the ranks, gets rich and lives it up, and then everything comes crashing down because he and everyone else he knows are absolutely terrible people, blah blah blah, we've seen it all before, but you know, you take something more recent of his like The Wolf of Wall Street and even though it uses that same old formula it still manages to be interesting because the characters have such personality and style and they keep your eyes glued to the conflict even though you already know exactly where it's going.

Here? Not so much. The Irishman is an absolutely unremarkable mobster story with completely forgettable characters that don't seem at all interested in their roles and some production values and cinematography that the so-called king of cinema should be embarrassed to be associated with, and let me tell you, you people defending this weak excuse for a film aren't doing Scorcese or "cinema" any favors by blindly swallowing this crap and acting like it's the greatest thing you've ever seen. If you're so willing to suck down any product, no matter how bad, just because it has a big time famous name attached to it than you're really no better than the popcorn action movies and fans that you're so quick to condemn.

As someone who's seen every Scorcese film before this, this is a 5/10 AT BEST and I will never pretend otherwise just because he did a lot of great films in the past.

Just amazing

[g_cotterell · 9/10 · 13 October 2019]

Classic Scorsese . De Niro is the best he's been for years . Pacino is really magnetic and charming . But for me, Joe Pesci is the standout. Quietly deadly, magnetic , loyal, complicated, its him that will get the Oscar . Saw it at the cinema ( sorry Netflix but I am not watching Scorsese at home ) and it was superb. Oh Anna Paquin is used quite cleverly as well. Good actress . Decent performance Go and see it at the cinema . You will remember the masters returning for one last ride

Really really good

[the_rog_2000 · 8/10 · 14 April 2020]

Amazing acting, great story lines and some twists. Loved how the story was told through the eyes of De Niro's character as he was at the end of his life.

For anyone that likes gangster movies, it is worth a watch - high quality actors from across the great gangster films. The only negative is that it lasts 3.5 hours. This would put me off watching it again soon, but definitely worth seeing for the first time.

Kept me glued throughout - defo give it a watch. You won't be disappointed.

Sorry Scorcese, TLDR.

[ThomDerd · 6/10 · 5 December 2019]

Some might hate it but here is a little bit of truth about the Irishman, against the 8s and the 9s and the 10s: It is a "Too long didn't read" kind of movie. What is the reason of this enormous more-than-three-hours runtime? Probably to enjoy as much as possible Pesci, Pacino and De Niro working together. But folks, this time has come and gone... Goodfellas, Casino etc. and anything Scorcese did is amazing. But getting mob-type genre back in play in 2020 needs a bit of a twist and taste for the different audiences. 3' 24" is outrageously long and slow even for the fanatics. I watched it on Netflix and it took 2 days to go through the movie. Very slow character development, which is absolutely not necessary, as we as audiences are already trained in this genre. If you don't like this mob-type genre and these actors, there is almost no chance you would watch this movie or you 'd drop it after half an hour. Only plus is the good acting of course and the great directing but...if you are new to this genre, start from the classics! 6/10

Almost Perfection

[Her-Excellency · 9/10 · 30 November 2019]

Other reviewers at the top, when sorted by Helpfulness, have already covered much of what makes this film so exceptionally good. As such, and knowing that I have a tendency to sometimes exceed the number of allowed characters, I'd like to add just a couple of small things.

First, the sets and costuming were near perfection. Every SINGLE piece of clothing which the characters wore, down to cuff-links, handbags, hair pins and shoes were of the era. That kind of meticulous detail can only bode well for a film. If the creators care enough about the small details, imagine what they do with the big ones.

Secondly, in many films now, where there is a well-known and varied cast, you find that the screen time each devotes in comparison to the film run time, really leaves a little to be desired. That is not the case here. Almost every second of every scene is filled with one or more of these masterful actors, actually acting. Performing. Pulling you in to the world they are creating. All, without the need of heavy CGI or filler. As Hoffa might say: they get right down to brass tacks - and, pardon the pun, deliver.

DeNiro, Pacino, Pesci, Keitel. Enough said. Leave politics at the door, and enjoy.

Excellent film all around.

DeNiro beating up diner guy is where it goes bad

[twistedr · 6/10 · 28 November 2019]

The movie stars bold, we get some nice action, a somewhat of a storytelling and trying to ignore weird looking CGI on DeNiro's face.

But what happens later, oh man.....

When i saw this 76 year old men "beating up" the guy in diner for touching his daughter, with moves like grandpa, clumsy and unnatural i left my pink glasses and really started to pay attention to details.

Aside from Pacino's acting, and best CGI looking effect as far as i'm concerned, the movie after 1,5 hrs becomes dull and stretched.

Would have been much much much better to have had youngsters for half of the movie so it doesn't ruin the experience afterwards as we're looking to the same faces that's supposed to tell a story of a 30 years timeline and so.

And i could have lived with that if it wasn't the bad screenplay....

I was so anxious to see a movie with all my favorite actors and got to the conclusion that in life it's better to go down in grace than disgraced.

The Irishman

[Prismark10 · 8/10 · 29 November 2019]

The Irishman is a companion piece to Martin Scorsese's other gangster films, Goodfellas and Casino.

It is also a teaming up of his old pals for one last ride. Robert De Niro has not appeared in a Scorsese film since Casino. Neither has Joe Pesci who basically retired from the movies in 1998. Harvey Keitel last worked with Scorsese in The Last Temptation of Christ. Al Pacino is the new boy, his first time working with Scorsese.

The Irishman is less violent than Goodfellas and Casino. It still packs a punch although Scorsese has been more careful not to make these gangsters look as glamorous as in his previous films.

Spanning 40 years, Frank Sheeran (De Niro) recalls his story. A World War 2 veteran who fought in Italy, a truck driver who delivered meat who went on to become a man who painted houses (a hitman.) Sheeran got involved with Russell Bufalino (Pesci) a Pennsylvania gangster who kept a low profile. It brings him into contact with Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino) the leader of the powerful Teamster union who loaned money from its pension fund to organized crime. Sheeran went on to become close with Hoffa and a union organiser.

Scorsese has called The Irishman a chamber piece. It is mainly about its three main characters and only De Niro, Pesci and Pacino go through the digital de-aging process. They are made to look in their late 30s/40s for the early part of the film.

The film has the best cinema performances that De Niro and Pacino have given in years, mainly because the quality of some scripts they have been offered have been far from the best. Pacino plays Hoffa differently from Jack Nicholson in the movie Hoffa. Pacino's interpretation is of a man who likes ice cream sundaes, hates tardiness and unwilling to see reason because he thought the Teamsters owed him the leadership as a right. Pesci in contrast with his volatile Goodfellas character is a more thoughtful wiseguy here.

The film clocks in at three and half hours. It is too long and one hour could had easily been excised from it. The de-aging has been done sympathetically. It works mainly because we are never told how old they were when we see them at their younger age. However, you can make an actor in his 70s look thirty years younger, you cannot digitally make them move like younger men. You can spot De Niro gingerly climbing some rocks in one scene.

The treatment of females in this movie is superficial. Sheeran's and Bufalino's wives are just there to chain smoke. Only Sheeran's daughter Peggy shows unhappiness as to her father's chosen profession. Even then the old Peggy is wasted. At one point I did wonder why the film had a de-aged Holly Hunter playing Peggy. Only to realise she was played by Anna Paquin, who won an Oscar for playing Hunter's daughter in The Piano.

Despite the reservations, Scorsese has crafted a wonderful film, getting together the actors he relied on from his own early days as a director. There is an air of elegiac nostalgia to a style of cinema that might be passing away which Scorsese reflected on with his comments about Marvel superhero films. Ironic that The Irishman only got a limited cinema release as its main platform is Netflix.

Disappointing by Scorsese standards

[rizzaxc · 6/10 · 10 November 2019]

First off, let me set this straight that I'm not repeled by long or slow films. However, The Irishman is at the very least 30-40 minutes too long, and the suspense sometimes is killed off by characters dragging the scene too much. The biggest offender would be the second last arc which I'm not gonna spoil.

Secondly, for such a slow film you'd expect the pay off to be worth it, but it isn't. The message of the film is revealed very early on, and it's very obvious where this particular plot line is going to. These 2 factors (slow pace and obvious plotline) make the film feels particularly unrewarding to me.

Third is the lack of the 'wow' factor, which is disappointing for such a godlike cast and crew. There is not a single memorable scene or line that stands out for me, despite the actors all doing a phenomenal job. And no, I don't really mind the CGI, even though it's not the best thing since sliced bread. The music is not memorable either, even though it can be an artistic choice to make the film feels more grounded and unglamorous.

So where does this leave us? Personally I don't think this is a bad film, but it feels disappointing with such a big roster. Don't expect this to be the film to watch with friends over, as it's pretty (unneccessarily) lengthy and the undertone is meant to be a heavy one.

Too boring

[andrewlotar · 4/10 · 10 January 2022]

Very long and boring, almost nothing happens in the whole movie. I thought there would be many interesting moments of Italian mafia showdowns, in the style of old movies. But this is not the case. Not worth your attention.

To call it "good" is to call DaVinci a finger painter

[rocknrollparty · 10/10 · 2 November 2019]

I'm going to steal something I read from a food critic once-this deserves a zero because it's so good it'll ruin everything else for you. And that's what this masterpiece is to cinema. It's truly just that effing special. It reminded me just how much I miss Pesci. Never in my life has time flown by as quickly as it did watching this. A true joy and a privilege to witness. Well done sirs. Well done.

A masterpiece will be appreciated after a while

[AdelazizKenawy · 10/10 · 20 February 2023]

Outstanding performance from alpacino... Joe and deniro .. storyline and flow of events and i think deniro acting was on another level ... Scorsese really did his best in this movie .. there was little fault in deaginng technology with faces and movement in action scenes .. the narrating by deniro added to the movie... The ending of movie was so good. With deniro and pacino ... Alpacino's son did also his best ... Costumes and cinematography was very very good ... Finally.. joe pesci stunned me with his performance that was nothing like any role he did before and gave me the right image of a mafia boss ... As i said. This movie will be appreciated in the following years .

I say it's dream come true for cinephiles

[asen-75377 · 9/10 · 28 November 2019]

Martin Scorsese's The Irishman is a magisterial mob epic...this movie is reflective more about greatness and losses. Finally Scorsese has brought the lost charm of gangster movies after so many years...but don't expect that this movie is treated with the same manner of Goodfellas..and the violence in this movie is not as extreme compared to his other movies in this genre, it's mainly focuses on the relation between Frank Sheeran and his boss Jimmy Hoffa..more like I say this is the ultimate gratitude to mob or gangster genre from the greatest living director with his competency.

Robert De Niro gave his best performance in years..Pacino is electric, hope he will get his long deserved 2nd Oscar..Joe Pesci is real deal, he is not the desperado like in his other movies, in it he is sharp-witted quite sensible guy...when you see on these guys on screen you see the true power of art..The other cast members are also great.

The film's first 30 or 40 minutes may be felt slow by some people but from when Hoffa kicks in, there is no turning back..The Irishman is the best movie of the year for me so far and 2019 is going to be one of the greatest years in movie history.

A mafia movie that takes the time to talk about different topics in life

[joesiegel · 9/10 · 1 April 2020]

Martin Scorsese grew up making gangster movies, for over 40 years he became the mainstay of modern gangster movies, along with Coppola marked a before and after in the genre, Scorsese immortalized gangster movies with Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino, films full of moral dilemmas, corrupt and proud characters and the typical final act of the film of the descent into misery. The Irishman brings all these elements together in a more existentialist and reflective way, despite being a movie about the mafia it feels more two-dimensional than most crime movies, especially because it is a very personal story told by Scorsese himself, unlike most mafia movies, The Irishman takes time to reflect on the passage of time, repentance, devotion, loyalty, and oblivion, all these doubts drown Scorsese and the main actors of the film who they have reached old age and are reflecting on their own lives.

The Irishman has all the features of the Scorsese cinema, long shots, sharp and precise dialogues and dynamic camera movements, every time there is a shooting Scorsese manages to make it look more stylized than the previous one, we all know that the scenes of the Scorsese movies where the violence overflows are excellent, except for the scene of Frank kicking a man in the wax, De Niro's performance is quite disappointing considering that he is a 78-year-old man playing someone in his thirties. Like any Scorsese film, the story is marked by one betrayal after another, the mafia world is not the best to trust other people, loyalty is ephemeral, except that of Russel and Frank that is maintained until the end, when someone makes mistakes the mafia has no other solution than death, Frank was on the verge of making mistakes on multiple occasions but Russel was always there to rescue him as a sign of his true loyalty.

The Irishman has an unconventional epilogue for the Scorsese films, we are used to seeing a spiral descent by the characters into madness or misery, or in both directions as is the case with Goodfellas. The Irishman for his part presents a reflective, emotional, sad and cold epilogue, Frank is alone in an old age telling us his story but continues to remain faithful to his ideals, this is demonstrated when he prefers not to tell the police about Jimmy Hoffa even after that all the mafia he knew is dead, that is his loyalty to his religion, the mafia.

There are several peculiar scenes in this epilogue filled with a strong emotional charge, the ending leaves a strange feeling of mixed feelings, nostalgia, euphoria or confusion, but above all satisfied when seeing a film that refreshes the current cinema as only Scorsese could have done.

No wide cinema release? I understand why.

[zeki-4 · 6/10 · 28 November 2019]

Watching the wax museum version of De Niro for more than three hours wasn't the blast I hoped for. The CGI is not there yet. Dead eyes. Very distracting.

Al Pacino pretty much tries to play Al Pacino, De Niro his usual bitter self, but nice to see wax-Pesci, who was the most believable character. He completely outshines wax-De Niro here.

Oh, and by the way, Scorsese: there were no twin towers in the late 60's.

I can rewatch 'Goodfellas' and 'Casino' over and over again. I will not be returning to 'The Irishman'

Simply Brilliant

[gary-simm · 9/10 · 14 October 2019]

I was worried about the length of the film before i attended the screening, but i can honestly say, i was gripped all the way through, De Niro back to his best, Pesci was fantastic, Pacino was electric, Keitel was menacing & Stephen Graham held his own amongst this legendary cast.

A return to this world that Scorsese has mastered with some of his best films & this film sits right up there right next to them.

Get comfy & enjoy the great story telling ability of these masters at work.

Gangster Avengers born for Netflix

[sn3z · 7/10 · 29 September 2019]

This film is super long. Too long to sit in the cinema for as fantastic as it looks. I ran out of snacks, I was so gripped I didn't go to the toilet which meant my bladder was bursting only adding to the tension.

This is pretty much the Avengers of the gangster movies where all of your favourite people are in one film written by the best writer and directed by the best director. Only Walken and Woods are missing.

Making de niro young kind of works and isn't as distracting as I thought and Pacino is fantastic. If you expect Pesci to be the nutjob he was in the other Scorsese movies then think again and this is no bad thing. Pesci is one of the best actors alive with a fantastic range and this movie proves it.

The Irishman is lovely to look at but for god sakes take a leak before you go or wait for its Netflix debut where you can watch it with whiskey and pause it for comfort breaks.

Several Oscar nominations incoming

[kylerobertsiscool · 8/10 · 18 October 2019]

The Irishman is another outstanding Scorsese film. De Niro gives one of his best performances in years. His narration is spot on and he makes us genuinely feel for Frank Sheeran. I believe his first Oscar nomination for years is inbound. Pesci is also great in a somewhat reserved role, but it's Al Pacino that really shines in this film. He gives his typical loudmouth performance and should be considered the favourite for best supporting actor, in my book. The film has a good pace to it. The nearly three and a half hour runtime flies by... for the most part. Midway through the second act, things can get a little slow but by no means is it boring. Perhaps it's the kind of film you watch on Netflix rather see it in cinema. The character development overall is excellent. We get a good grasp of every character by the end of the film due to the run time. However, we don't hear a huge chunk of information regarding Frank's Irish background. It is merely mentioned with one or two references. I personally had no issue with the de-aging. I think it's done really well. At no point was I distracted or thought it looked unrealistic. The ending and/or final act as a whole is conclusive. You leave the cinema with a smile on your face. I see a best picture nomination incoming for The Irishman. You should check it out when it comes to Netflix November 27. 9/10

Meh

[red-00770 · 6/10 · 28 November 2019]

Few years took for this film to arrive, Don't Believe tha Hype, this ain't no classic. Slow burn, with the last part sending me to sleep. Actors old made to look young and young-ish actor made to look old, De Niros dodgy contact lenses, also the way he beats up the greengrocer that was comical, looked like a 90 year old man dishing out a lame beating, notice his foot stamp with the opposite foot an nothing being under it hahahaa, Stephen Graham's accent dodgy. Years for this pffftttt.

I love Scorsese and all the great mobster flicks, but this one is OVERRATED...

[keelhaul-80856 · 5/10 · 2 December 2019]

I love all the films of this genre-- Casino, Once Upon a Time in America, Goodfellas, Godfather, Mean Streets, Scarface, The Departed, Carlito's Way, Taxi Driver, etc. Scorsese makes some awesome epics, and I like a wide variety of other directors and their films in this vein. However, I find the hype and the hooplah around this one to fall a bit flat. I am sure I will receive some hate for this opinion, but this movie is nowhere near the level of Goodfellas or Scarface.

1) The Run Time= I am fine with a 3.5 hour movie, but it needs to be great enough to fill that amount of time. I mean, at least 60-75% of it should be amazing. This movie is WAY TOO LONG for no reason. I can think of about 5 scenes that could be cut or condensed that did nothing to further the plot.

2) The Aging and De-Aging of Actors= This was actually very distracting from the movie, and made me laugh in several scenes. Was this really NECESSARY? It seemed cheap and corny, and it really takes away from the movie instead of helping it. Wouldn't it be better to just get younger actors to play the really young scenes of DeNiro, Pesci, Pacino, etc??? No one is buying the age of these guys, even with CGI technology and effects. It ruined the belief of the moment.

3) Pesci looked 139 years old throughout the movie, even in scenes where he is supposed to be young.

4) Harvey Keitel's talent and presence was greatly wasted, as I barely remember anything that he did or said.

5) The Women= the ladies are mentioned at the start of the film by name, and then become completely irrelevant to anything that goes on for 3 hours. They were extremely underdeveloped. This was one thing that complimented Goodfellas well- Ray Liotta's wife was always in the mix, or screwing something up, or threatening to kill him, etc.

6) Lack of Suspense or Action= This movie became very run-of-the-mill boring after an hour or so. Nothing surprised me, nothing was exciting, and the action is so neutered and far between that I forgot I was watching a gangster flick. I can still remember Pesci stabbing a guy in the throat with a pen in Casino, or Scarface's last stand, or the beatings given out in Goodfellas. This movie barely had ANY MEMORABLE SCENES that stand out. The only great ones were a couple of really quick and realistic shootings of guys on the street or in an eatery by DeNiro.

7) Pacino as Hoffa= He doesn't even resemble Hoffa at all, and neither do other people portraying certain characters. Robert Kennedy comes to mind as well.

This is a decent movie, with great production values, classic actors, a legendary director, and nostalgic music with a great soundtrack. However, I just think a 8 or 9 rating is BS for this project. EVERYONE IS SIMPLY SAYING WHAT THEY ARE TOLD TO SAY, just like every other overhyped movie or author or artist. It is a good movie, but far from a masterpiece, or Scorsese's crowning achievement, despite what everyone says.

Scarface, Goodfellas, Godfather, Departed= all light years beyond this movie, and with a shorter run time. This film needed to be tightened up and given some better scenes. It is interesting, but overbloated and overhyped due to the cast and director-- which can do no wrong in the minds of the average critic or average joe.

One of best movie of this decade perhas all decades.

[sharpreet-95831 · 10/10 · 23 July 2020]

Martin scorsese the master, delivers one of his best work from life long presentation of human condition through his movies to this beautifully crafted with legends such as de niro, Al pacino, pasci, harvey.....from the opening scene to the very very end movie left me with a feeling only can be described by world "ineffable" This is the peak, this is the best experience and how on earth one gonna ever make movie such as irishman. there is not just the drama but also the typical scorsese laughs too, like the moment when! No u better watch it yourself i aint gonna spoil it🤣🤣