Review of The Untouchables (1987) by Alex R — 07 Apr 2011

The crime genre is one of my favorite films genres aside from horror and action. I had read things about this film and I was slightly confused, I originally thought it was a tv series or something. But I was wrong.

The Untouchables is an entertaining but inaccurate film detailing the investigation and subsequent capture of Al Capone during the Depression era. The filmmakers have obviously taken a few creative liberties to make the film more entertaining.

The scene where Elliott Ness murders gangster Frank Nitti never happened, but was put in the film for an even more dramatic effect. This is a good film, and it is interesting to see a film based on Al Capone who is played by Robert De Niro.

I thought De Niro, considering his impressive resume in previous crime films could have delivered a slightly better performance. Brian DePalma is a good filmmaker, but he could have strived to make this film more accurate, considering the terrific subject of this picture.

I did not hate the film, but I'm just saying that there is room for improvement. The Untouchables is an entertaining film with a good enough cast to make this film watchable. Sean Connery, for me at least was the best actor in the film, De Niro would be second and third would be Costner.

De Niro was good as Capone, but thinking that he played in such gangster classics as The Godfather Part II and Once Upon A Time In America, you'd expect something truly terrific on screen. He gives an entertaining performance, but like I've said, he could have been better.

The Untouchables is an average gangster film that is purely designed for entertainment, substituting fact for fiction.