Casino

⭐ 7.0/10

(Originally written by kaelwilton)

I was disappointed that I didn't enjoy this movie as much as I wanted to. I consider Goodfellas to be one of the best films of all time, so I was hoping that this one would be on the same level, but sadly it was not.

At times, this movie felt like a carbon copy of Goodfellas. It used the same narrative style, same voiceovers, very similar themes, and even had Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci playing the exact same characters that they played in Goodfellas. It was literally just Goodfellas, but less interesting and without the same emotional punch that the former had. I just didn't connect with any of the characters, and that made for a rough watch. Also, I read that Scorsese had to edit some of the more violent scenes down to get the movie approved, and while I'm not complaining about that, I am complaining that the editing was not done very well, making these scenes look really really bad and jarring.

Also, I just got really sick of hearing the F word by the end of the movie. While Goodfellas used the word a lot, it never felt out of place or excessive, but in this movie it just felt really unnecessary by the end.

Despite all of my criticisms, there were aspects of this movie that I really enjoyed. The acting was really good from just about everyone, and the soundtrack was phenomenal. Scorsese is known for his great use of music in his films, and this one is no exception. Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones has been in just about every movie I've seen of his, but every time I hear it it just gets me so hyped up. Also, despite being 3 hours long, I was entertained for most of the time, and it never felt boring.

While it definitely is not my favourite Scorsese movie (in fact, out of the ones that I've seen, it is definitely my least favourite), it still is not a terrible movie.