Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Matt Damon ...( see more  see more... ) , Vera Farmiga

In South Boston, where the state police force is waging war on organized crime, young undercover cop Billy Costigan is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Costello. While Bi...( read more  read more... )lly is quickly gaining Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan, a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the gangsters and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy--and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

Flixster Users

92% liked it

611,774 ratings

Critics

92% liked it

224 critics

R, 2 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Release Date: October 6, 2006

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DVD Release Date: February 13, 2007

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Stats: 68,989 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (68,989)


  • January 22, 2008
    An brillant & violent crime epic with great performances across the board from Leo to Matt to Marky Mark to big Jack Nicholson.
  • January 5, 2010
    An excellent movie. A relentless, hard- boiled and engaging crime-thriller. A piercing bullet of excitement and head bashing fun. It's sizzling, crackling, intelligent, and breathtaking. It's tension-loaded and adrenaline-pumping. An instant classic. Director, Martian Scorsese's ...( read more)masterpiece. A powerful, riveting and explosive film. A total powerhouse. It's just simply awesome. Remarkable, enjoyable and sensational. Stylish, slick, brutal, wickedly funny and magnificent. Plenty of twist and turns and relentlessly cool groove all on it's own. An incredible all-star cast. Every performance strikes gold. Leonardo Dicaprio and Matt Damon are electrifying. Dicaprio has never acted with such fire or power as he does in this. Damon is charming, witty and sensational. Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin are brilliant. Mark Wahlberg is teriffic, he's sly, compelling and fantastic, giving a performance that stands out while being cool, confident and relaxed. Ray Winstone is marvelous. Jack Nicholson has never been better, his best performance in year's.
  • December 29, 2009
    An American Crime Classic. I can say with out a doubt that The Departed is one of the best films of 2006, I can also say that it will probably recieve some Academy Awards. What I can't say for certain is that it is Martin Scorsese's best film, as I haven't seen all of them. Even ...( read more)if it isn't the best Scorsese film it is still far better than other competition. A true Crime Suspense film if there ever was one. Simple, yet so complex. It's easy to get lost in the double, double crossing and plot details, but in the end the formulae is basically DiCaprio good, Damon bad, Nicholson Bad and Ugly (in a physical and moral sense). The title is the best indicator of the theme of the film, the departed that need prayers in order to leave purgatory and in the end the departed is almost every character in the film. However Jack Nicholson's soul is far from saving in a performance that sometimes goes too far and is better for it. Although he is the most evil, Matt Damon's character is the most hated, a first for a usually good guy Damon. But it is Leonardo who gives the best performance as the good cop. One of my favourite actors who has for too long been typed cast as a teen age heart throb for his role in Titanic, he proves that he is a great actor with great talent. The thing I loved most about this film were the shocking twists, that keep you guessing and almost become comical in the end. The 2 hours will fly by in a film that you can really sink your teeth into, not for the fain hearted though. A cinematic achievement.
  • December 24, 2009
    Now you have to face facts at some point: Martin Scorsese is at his best when he's doing a gangster picture. We can go back to Mean Streets, through to minimal gangland influences in Raging Bull, jump forward a decade to the great Good Fellas, past Casino, and finally arrive at T...( read more)he Departed. It's funny looking at that list because it almost seems like not having DeNiro in his movie was why he won an Oscar.

    The Departed takes place in Boston, a town that has been on the edge for two hundred years and probably will be for two hundred more. It opens with a flashback of crime boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) working a grocery store and meeting a young Colin Sullivan (played later by Matt Damon). This is where Frank becomes the young Sullivan's mentor, molding him into the perfect tool for a notorious crime boss- a mole inside the police department task force investigating Costello.

    Meanwhile, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) has just graduated the police academy, attempting to shed the demons of his families past. Due to this past he's asked if he will become and informant working undercover in Costello's crew. Yes, each side has a rat planted in their pantry. Instead of a plot about committing crimes and stopping them, The Departed is actually a film about being a rat, while trying to find a rat and hoping no one busts your ass doing it.

    Based on the Japanese film Infernal Affairs, Scorsese delivers another rich gangster film that doesn't follow the parameters that he himself helped set in his own crime drama film making through the years. Damon and DiCaprio don Boston accents and grow out of the babyface personas they were pigeonholed into. This is a great performance for each of them. Nicholson is Nicholson, crazy as hell and finally jumping from the romantic comedy market into his specialty- crazy son of a bitch market. Of course you have Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, and Mark Wahlberg filling out a great cast, but the one guy that gets left out when discussing this film is Ray Winstone as Mr. French. This right hand man of Costello is played with such brutality and intensity by Winston that he should have been nominated for a supporting Oscar over Wahlberg.

    Now this is a Martin Scorsese picture, so it's going to be good and won the Oscar for best picture. But is it better than Taxi Driver? Is it better than Raging Bull? Is it better than Goodfellas? Each of those films were screwed at the Oscars and The Departed seems to be payback for picking the popular schlock of the era of these masterpieces (take a look at what they lost to). The Departed is a great film, but will it be a member of that holy trinity of Marty films? It might, but it will be the younger cousin to those great masterpieces.

    Now don't get me wrong, it's a great movie. Just don't go into it thinking it's his best, because it's not. But Scorsese at his worst is 10x better than most director's best.
  • December 13, 2009
    A terrific powerhouse movie of the highest order, and probably my favorite Scorsese film since Goodfellas. As one should expect from a Scorsese picture, the performances are excellent, but this is Nicholson's show. The blood flows freely, the adrenaline-pumped story works up to a...( read more) mad dash, and the screenplay recognizes the intellectual artists at work; but Nicholson remains the most magnetic aspect of the grand scheme. The film owes him credit for most of its suspense, and much of its character. Its energy and vitality carries it through the entire run time without a faulty moment.
  • February 10, 2010
    This film is a crime thriller about a very elegant. With very dynamic directed by a senior director, Martin Scorsese. Well this movie is not original is anymore, because the script was adapted from the Hong Kong film. But Martin Scorsese's style is very effective to somewhat chan...( read more)ge the criminal world with Hollywood style. Yes, Scorsese re-issued a great talent in gangster films like the tens of years ago. In addition, the game stunning the main actors in this film, is a value no less important. Especially for DiCaprio, who has matured in acting. Now he gradually became a first-class character actor
  • February 9, 2010
    Brilliant acting. Brilliant film.
  • February 9, 2010
    my dad's favorite movie now
  • February 7, 2010
    It's JUST ONE OF THOSE!

    I wish if I can tell *exactly what happened in this movie from the beginning..,Fucking rats.
  • February 6, 2010
    Weird. Amazing if you haven't seen the original, but it's almost exactly the same... only much, much better directed and interpreted.

Critic Reviews


July 6, 2007
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

What makes this a Scorsese film, and not merely a retread, is the director's use of actors, locations and energy, and its buried theme. I am fond of saying that a movie is not about what it's about; i... full review

January 6, 2007
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

The Departed has enough tension to keep you engrossed, and enough color for ten crime pictures. Scorsese obviously adores his expensive, expansive ensemble. full review

October 9, 2006
Pete Hammond, Maxim

We'll be talking about this one for years to come. full review

October 7, 2006
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Scorsese has put together a fantastic ensemble of actors: Some of the movie's best performances are the ones tucked into the corners, like Alec Baldwin's beefy, arrogant state police honcho. full review

October 6, 2006
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

As The Departed wears on, it becomes more exciting, more grimly funny and more nihilistic -- and that nihilism has a lasting impact. full review

October 6, 2006
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

For all its bloodletting, The Departed is an intoxicating film. It's a film that'll have your hands over your face with one eye peeking: The violence sickens, but the movie seduces. full review

October 6, 2006
Kurt Loder, MTV

It's good to see Martin Scorsese back among the bad guys again, knocking heads, spraying bullets, sloshing through the bloody puddles of their conflicted Catholicism. full review

October 5, 2006
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Two and a half hours race by as this twisting, turning tale blazes its exciting, funny, brutal path. full review

October 5, 2006
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

If the story suffers initially from a slight lack of focus, hang in there, because you will soon become immersed in a mesmerizing, expertly plotted cat-and-mouse game. full review

September 28, 2006
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

A new American crime classic from the legendary Martin Scorsese, whose talent shines here on its highest beams. full review

View more The Departed reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • terris85017
    February 4, 2009
    Wrote this review in 2007. (Oct 2006 Director: Martin Scorsese) The subject is loyalties, corruption, mob life. Scorsese won his Oscar Oscars too & Best Director and Best Picture. Wonderful cast....interesting story set in Boston (good accents)....Sort of a fun tale of local corruption casting the wonderful Jack Nicholson as the Kingpen!

    This movie was released prior to American Gangster. I say that because these are LOCAL mob stories...(this one set in Boston).

    Matt Damon & Leonard Dicaprio at some points in this film I could hardly tell apart!So I watched it again! They had distinct characters. Their acting is that intense. Martin Sheen & Mark Wahlberg were great in heading up the undercover dept.
  • btemplejhcp09
    November 23, 2008
    good movie. but i agree with the comments before, didn't need all of the swearing.
  • perfectgentlemn
    July 20, 2008
    Keep both eyes & ears on alert, Very Good Movie !!
  • KeyserSoze93
    June 15, 2008
    Exactly.What does the swearing have to do with anything?You've heard the words before, get over it.
  • gregorysuarez
    June 13, 2008
    What does the amount of swearing have to do with the quality of the film?
  • karthu1993
    April 15, 2008
    ooh too much swearing. it made the movie unworthy of winning the oscar.
  • pavacri23
    February 23, 2008
    one of the best movies of 2006
  • sportboy
    February 23, 2008
    well I haven't watched this film but I did like leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic I wonder how he would be like in this film.
  • gyvette
    November 27, 2007
    great movie! I am not a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio at all. He has never made a movie that I have liked him in, but I loved him in this one. He was great, he did such a good job with his character, I was so impressed with it!!!
  • bluecardinals
    November 12, 2007
    wow!

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