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Movie Notes: The Untouchables

July 4th, 2008

The Untouchables

starstarstar = 3 stars

Starring Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Sean Connery
Directed by Brian De Palma

Synopsis

Federal agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) is determined to enforce prohibition in 1930s Chicago, defying notorious gangster Al Capone (Robert De Niro). Ness solicits the help of beat cop Jim Malone (Sean Connery) and others, forming “The Untouchables.”

The Good

  • Brian De Palma is a capably fascinating director, who with inventive camera moves can make something as mundane as sneaking up behind a reporter with a gun, interesting.
  • De Niro as Al Capone has huge potential and occasionally delivers (he gets to bash someone’s head in with a baseball bat). Sean Connery and Andy Garcia are also excellent.
  • The plot is pretty interesting, as The Untouchables decide to fight the mob with tactics with equal brutality. The battle escalates as each side tries to outdo the other.
  • A suspenseful, wordless showdown where a baby carriage rolls down steps amid gunfire, paying homage to the Odessa steps sequence of The Battleship Potempkin.

The Bad

  • Kevin Costner. Overall he’s too serious and bland, and is in constant danger of being upstaged by his co-stars, Connery in particular.
  • Disappointingly, De Niro doesn’t get to do nearly enough wacky, sadistic stuff.
  • Gets a little too touchy-feely near the end.

Conclusion

The Untouchables is a decent flick and three stars may seem rather harsh, but there are so many other, better gangster movies, that portray things in a much grittier and compelling fashion. I wouldn’t recommend anyone see this until they’ve seen the Godfather trilogy, Goodfellas, Scarface, The Departed… (the list goes on). And the biggest failing is Kevin Costner, who turns in such a bland performance I wonder why he was ever a movie star.

IMDB: The Untouchables
Wikipedia: The Untouchables
Rotten Tomatoes: The Untouchables 82%

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  • Granted, it's easy to hate on Kevin -- but his bland good boy persona was critical for the scene on the roof where he drops Frank Nitti. His Anakin/Darth moment that turns him into a fiercer lawman. I love this movie, can you tell?
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