Review of Black Mass (2015) by Junelkean — 04 Jul 2017
After his roles as the Mad Hatter, Willy Wonka and Mortdecai, Johnny Depp makes a comeback in a true crime story as one of the most notorious gangsters in U.S. history, Whitey Bulger in Black Mass.
It tells the tale of Bulger's life and his connection to FBI agent John Conelly (Edgerton) as an informant to strike down their enemies in South Boston. But what this movie shows are the spine-tingling scenes which involve Depp's once in a lifetime performance as the said mobster.
Yes, there are some touches of Martin Scorcese and Francis Ford Copolla, but Scott Cooper did a good job in forming great acting skills of the all-star cast: Dakota Johnson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon and Corey Stoll, which help refuel an interesting movie with a greedy mood.
However, Black Mass is not perfect. Is it a bad movie? No. But the problems with it are the use of characters where it fails by introducing way too many of them. We also don't clearly understand Bulger's motivation as this menacing figure yet making his emotional core empty.
VERDICT: With some characterization issues, Depp still powerfully immortalizes Bulger in a menacing and spine-tingling movie.
This review of Black Mass (2015) was written by Junelkean on 04 Jul 2017.
Black Mass has generally received positive reviews.
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