I remember going to the movies with two of my friends when this film came out, and, about three hours later leaving the theatre in disappointment and disgust. Sad to say, at that time the story was too serious for my liking, and thus I got very little out of it. Of course, I was at the delicate age of 15 then and not quite sure what to think about the things I saw.

Now, 6 years later, I watched the film from a completely different perspective. It was to be expected (and greatly hoped, too!), naturally, and I knew right from the beginning that this time I’d enjoy the film far more than I did the first time. And quite right – the scenery and cinematography are stunning and beautiful (in their own way!), creating a haunting atmosphere. Granted, the storyline is a little feeble, there should have been something more than just revenge, one single theme is too little for almost a three-hour film.

What comes to the actors, well, I was greatly intrigued by Daniel Day-Lewis’ character. I’m always drawn to the ‘bad guys’ in films, and Bill was no exception. A strange, strange character, and I think Day-Lewis played his part well, bringing out the peculiarity of his character without being too extravagant. DiCaprio on the other hand… he’s so mellow. Was there any rage in him? I didn’t see any, and, well, if you have lived 16 years in an orphanage, perhaps you lose your accent, but it still bothered me that he didn’t have even a hint of Irish accent left… I won’t even go to Cameron Diaz because I can’t stand her, I mostly just tried to tune her out.

All in all, I very much enjoyed watching Gangs of New York, not once did I wonder when it would end. But there is one ‘negative’ thing: all the Irish accent and music heard in the film just added to my desire to go to Ireland, I don’t think I can stand it much longer, let alone think about anything else! …but I don’t really mind. :D

It is a stunning example of the stupidity of humans that this movie has recieved so much acclaim, been nominated for a million Oscars, etc. I was surprised to see this type of movie from Scorcese, who has made some clunkers, but never any as meat-headed as this one.

So what is wrong with it? You could talk about the completely cartoonish dialogue and character development, DiCaprio’s stilted acting, the goofball narrative. You could talk about the film’s embrace of the most inane historical-action-epic’s most trist cliches. You could even talk about the humorously bad chemistry between Cameron Diaz and DiCaprio. Most damning, however, is the film’s continued reliance throughout its 25 hours or so on the gimmick of its setting. The period is certainly an interesting setting, and the thrill of seeing a familiar place like New York City from a different view certainly is a kick, but the movie relies on this trick again and again and again and again. It’s almost like Scorcese is sitting next to you, prodding you with his elbow going, “Get it? Get it? It’s New York IN THEPAST! How about that, eh? Eh? Eh?”

Don’t waste your time.

So I watched this last night. The beginning intrigued me and I liked the opening battle scene, including the music, but I’m such a sucker for movie scores. The cinematography was interesting but wears off later on. I watched the entire first disc and was surprised that it was so long that I ACTUALLY had to put a second disc in. Needless to say I was a little perturbed and didn’t even half way pay attention to the second disc. I got lost, had no idea what was going on, literally just lost interest due to the length of the film that didn’t really have much going for it.

I didn’t feel like there was much of a story, I thought DiCaprio’s character was out for revenge, didn’t look like that to me. Making friends with the enemy before he strikes? Don’t think so. Oh and those accents! Don’t even get me started on that. Okay well do. Daniel Day-Lewis, couldn’t tell what kind of accent he was trying to pull off. DiCaprio’s character as a boy has a great accent but his older self magically loses it, but seems to try and hang out to it to no avail. It’s an off and on accent that almost sounds southern. And Cameron Diez had a crappy thick accent from the beginning and wears off slowly throughout the entire film.

I don’t even know why they chose her for the movie, she doesn’t fit in, she’s too modern, I’m guessing the only reason is because she’s so skinny that she looks like somewhat of a starving peasant.

I didn’t hate the movie, along with being a sucker for movie scores, I’m a sucker for movies based in history. I guess if I had some inkling of an understanding for The Five Points, which seemed pretty important in history, I don’t know why I’ve never heard of it, I think I would’ve been more interested. Luckily they had a Discovery Channel Gangs of New York Special on the Special Features and I watched that and enjoyed it more than the film. Though I did develop a new understanding of everything. I liked how most of the characters were based on factual people even though the story was fiction.

Basically the movie was too long, crappy actors (oh except Liam Neeson, he’s the shit, even though he was only in in for like 5 minutes), the fights scenes were good and they captured the time period really well, I would say watch this movie in intervals if you can.

I made it through about 30 minutes before I turned it off. The only other time I’ve done that with a movie I paid good money to rent was, oddly enough, The Beach, another DiCaprio Vehicle. Now I just avoid movies that he’s in entirely, so hopefully I’ll be safe.