Review of Gangs of New York (2002) by Shahmeer — 07 Jun 2011

Gangs of New York is a pre Civil War film based in, of course, New York. Now, looking at the title of this film, most would think this was a present day gang film in New York with mafias and what not. But it's nothing like that.

These gangs are the type of gangs which scrimmaged for food in the city and rely on others to get what they need to survive in the perilous city. The story revolves around a man named Amsterdam, whose father was part of a gang called the Dead Rabbits.

His father was killed by a gang leader named William Cutting, otherwise known as "Bill the Butcher", who now owns and runs New York. It has been 16 years since Amsterdam's death, and sure enough, Bill still runs the town.

The rest follows Amsterdam's life in New York, and his attempts to avenge his father.... Gangs of New York was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning none. But to many it was no surprise, for it was extremely close for making the cut for the Razzie's.

But I could accept the fact that the film was nominated for Best Picture, for it truly deserved that kind of recognition. The acting within Gangs of New York was more than ordinary. A cast you wouldn't expect to see in a film like this (Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz) all played their very best parts.

Leonardo did his average acting, but a little more better than usual. I loved Diaz, for I've never seen her in such a dramatic historic film before, and it was entertaining to see how she coped with it.

Then Daniel Day-Lewis also did an exciting performance, although I believe he should've been nominated and won Best-Supporting Actor, instead of being nominated for Best Lead Actor. But the cast I liked best were the supporting actors crew.

Meaning, the small cameo or occasional performances by actors, was the best part of all the acting. They added emotional or suspenseful impact to the film, and always made it better. Then, I enjoyed the cinematography.

It was also nominated for an Oscar, and it was well nominated. I enjoyed some of the screen shots and single shots. Then I enjoyed the Direction. Of course, who couldn't like Martin Scorsese? He never seems to disappoint the audience, with films ranging from the Godfellas to The Departed, he is one true audience pleaser.

But then, here comes the cons of the film. One thing was the opening sequence. It was a very pathetic battle scene, made in the worst way possible. It seemed fake on many levels, and thank god the film got better as it went on.

Then the other dissapointing asspect was that it's running lenght was very lengthy, and could've been shortened some. Then the last part was that it was historically inaccurate. Otherwise, it was great.

The best part of the film though was the fact that two great problems in New York was going on at the same time. One with the gangs, and another with the populace and the government. It was a great idea to base the story on.

And as I end this review, I have to say one thing; Scorsese might be the oldest director out there, but I don't think he or his films will ever die.