Review of The Untouchables (1987) by Ahmedaiman9999 — 19 Aug 2018

An old-school kinda goofy gangster flick is never what you think it would be when there is a remarkable filmmaker like Brian De Palma behind the camera. Alongside with Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Untouchables proves that old-style action movies is far from being dated. In fact, they are nothing but timeless.

The Untouchables is a deeply entertaining cop/mob movie. But what made it stand the test of time, besides its A-List cast, is its unique, and exceptional direction by none other than Brian De Palma. There is no shortage of De Palma's trademarks and his own visual style, nor his way of creating the tension that shouldn't be considered far behind Hitchcock's. But I don't think I've been shocked so many times in a movie before like here. The Untouchables's zany humor and wackiness can't make you think for a moment that it can be so brutal like that. It's like you know you're watching a PG-13 movie then all of a sudden comes a ruthless scene filled with gore and blood.

But what impressed me the most in this movie is how Brian De Palma simply could made us think "The Untouchables" are very touchable, and their mission is impossible to be done just by showing us a scene featuring the pure evil, Al Capone. De Niro's lunatic over-the-top performance was more than enough to make the viewers feel worry as much as the titular team.

The issues I've with this movie are with the silly and ridiculous nature of this movie. Yes, this very thing that I've praised above. Because halfway through the movie I think De Palma went too far making the movie's tone so absurd and ludicrous that you have to turn my brain off, while the movie didn't ask me to do so. Especially when the movie contains some very serious and emotional moments that worked so well on their own. So I felt there is a lot of inconsistency, and the tone could have been balanced way better. That being said, I enjoyed the entire movie even its brainless moments.

It would be unnecessary to mention that all the performances are superb. But Kevin Costner's performance helped flesh out his character, Eliot Ness. Speaking of which, all the characters are well-established, and have enough depth to serve the plot and to make you care about them.

The end is a little bit rushed, and could seem implausible for some. But I think it makes all the sense looking back on all what have been established throughout the movie.

The Untouchables is not Scarface, but it offers a genuine entertainment that can't be resist. Can't wait to see more of De Palma's work, let alone Domino that will be released later this year.

(8.