Starring: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga

Reviewed by Jeremy Silman

Watson Scale rating (0 being worst and 6 being perfect): 5.5

I don't go to as many premiere's as I used to, simply because many of the films are not very interesting. However, in the case of THE DEPARTED I couldn't say no. A remake of the brilliant 2002 Chinese hit INFERNAL AFFAIRS, I wanted to see if Scorsese was able do justice to the original.

THE DEPARTED is about two Boston police cadets (Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon) who, upon graduating, find themselves on very different paths. DiCaprio, under orders from special unit heads Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg, goes undercover and comes face to face with one horrible atrocity after another as he infiltrates and tries to bring down demented crime boss Jack Nicholson. Matt Damon is "owned" by Nicholson and quickly works his way up the ladder to a position of power in the police force. This allows him to keep Nicholson informed about all police activities and plans.

Both films work thanks to the ever-growing sense of terror, exhaustion, and hysteria that fills almost every scene. The tension is high as these two young men move on parallel tracks -- when it becomes clear to Nicholson and the police force that they both have moles in their midst, both men (as their respective nets tighten around them) face arrest or a gruesome death if caught.

Titles like INFERNAL AFFAIRS and THE DEPARTED don't do a very good job of describing what's happening in these movies. However, the original Chinese title, "Mo-Gaan-Do," is perfect -- it refers to the lowest level of hell in Buddhism. Indeed, both men are in a hell that might very well prove inescapable.

THE DEPARTED is fast paced, violent, and extremely intense. The dialogue is snappy, the characters memorable, and it's impossible to guess who will survive and who will get whacked from moment to moment. But what really makes Scorsese's remake so successful are the magnificent performances of the talented cast. Nicholson is simply brilliant. He exudes homicidal mania and an unnerving sense of threat. DiCaprio is no less impressive. His eyes express the pain of a slow meltdown to oblivion. Damon wears the look of a hunted animal well, and is as convincing playing a villain as he does a hero. Wahlberg and Baldwin, though not onscreen as much as the main players, both light up the theater whenever they speak.

Scorsese, Nicholson, and DiCaprio should all be on the fast track to Oscar. And the viewer, if he doesn't blanche at the non-stop over-the-top violence, is guaranteed a night at the movies that will stay with him for a long time to come.