Review of Taxi Driver (1976) by Kim B — 23 Jun 2014

Whilst Taxi Driver is a fun Scorsese directed piece of film that deserves to be in many top rated movies, I personally found myself not 100% happy by it.

Firstly, the movie has a good script. Characters are well written and are perfectly cast. Robert De Niro makes the lead character memorable and brings to screen one of film's most iconic quotes. A young Jodie Foster also shows off her talents at such a young age that proves why she had such success as she aged. There is also a surprising cameo appearance from Martin Scorsese in a scene you would have never seen from him before.

The film doesn't jump straight into the main story. Whilst you do get a short scene involving Foster near the beginning, you still have to go through a number of subplots before her storyline really got good. This is what I had an issue with. When the conclusion to this storyline arrived, I felt that there was not enough time spent on it. I wanted to know more about the characters that was involved, which is something that could have been focused on earlier in the film.

I'm not saying Taxi Driver is a bad film and I know many people out there would love it. I just feel that the movie should have either been made longer or the main point of the plot should have been brought forward earlier into the movie.