The Departed

Tags such as 'gripping' or 'on the edge of your seat' are endlessly bandied about when it comes to the movies, but Martin Scorsese has indeed pushed the adrenalin button in his latest flick, 'The Departed'. Cracow Life's scribbler was not so much on the edge of his seat as pinned to the back of it, his feet only just connecting with the floor. Occasionally, CL did try to adopt a more macho posture, just so that his girlfriend didn't think that he was a complete and utter wimp, but to little avail, as seconds later Jack Nicholson would orchestrate another hair-raising heist, and the whole caper would begin again....

If you're a Scorsese fan, 'The Departed' is an absolute must ('Infiltracja is the Polish title). It's a joy to see one of the old school maestros back on form, with so many of Scorsese's contemporaries now losing their touch. But if you're not in the mood for spicy language and shooting, shooting, shooting, give it a miss. There may not be a ten minute 'head-gets-squashed-in-a-vice' scene as in 'Casino', but a lot of people bite the dust allthesame.'

We don't want to give away too much, but Jack Nicholson's performance as an Irish-American crime boss is one to savour. That said, we can't help feeling that di Capricio is just a tad too nice to pull off a truly convincing undercover cop (compare Depp in 'Donnie Brasco') but he gives it his best. Marky Mark is superb as the high-octane Sargeant Dignam, and Martin Sheen memorable as Captain Queenan. As always, Scorsese selects music of a higher order - the soundtrack alone is a stormer. All in all a cracking film.