Review of The Untouchables (1987) by Shaun M — 01 Jan 2011

Brian DePalma's "The Untouchables" is easily one of my favorite movies from the late 80's as you can probably tell from its 5-star rating. Kevin Costner stars as Treasury Department crime fighter Eliot Ness who has been sent to Chicago to take down notorious crime boss Al Capone (Robert DeNiro). Ness quickly learns that most of Chicago's police force and political might are in Capone's pocket so he elists the help of incorruptible officer Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery) to form a squad of "untouchables" that are outside of Capone's influence. But to take down the most powerful man in Chicago Ness soon realizes that he must be prepared to lose everything and everyone he has sworn to protect.

An outstanding cast features Costner, DeNiro and Connery (who won an Academy Award for his performance) along with Andy Garcia and an underrated Charles Martin Smith. The cinematography and Oscar-nominated score add to an already terrific film. The only negatives are the handful of historical inaccuracies throughout the film. Outside of those, DePalma and writer David Mamet have created a terrific Prohibition-era narrative that mixes action, drama, tragedy and humor.