The Irishman

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.

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.

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.

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.

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