The Departed

The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It's a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The Departed stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson, with Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin in supporting roles. The film premiered at Ziegfeld Theatre on September 26, 2006 and was released on October 6, 2006 by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Plot
South Boston cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes under cover to infiltrate the organization of gangland chief Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). As Billy gains the mobster's trust, a career criminal named Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) infiltrates the police department and reports on its activities to his syndicate bosses. When both organizations learn they have a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin must figure out each other's identities to save their own lives.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Martin Scorsese's direction is mostly fantastic and for the first time, he even managed to win Best Director at the 79th Academy Awards.
 * 2) The film's idea of a cop who infiltrates the mob and a criminal who infiltrates the police is very compelling.
 * 3) It stays true the to Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, but by different country and characters.
 * 4) The performance are awesome. Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson do an excellent job portraying of Billy Costigan, Colin Sullivan, and Frank Costello respectively. Even Mark Wahlberg did a awesome job for portraying of Sean Dignam as well.
 * 5) Every character is well-written; Billy Costigan once attempted to discover the other's identity before they are found out.
 * 6) Howard Shore's score is once again terrific and excellent (who previously composed Scorsese's films The Aviator, Gangs of New York, and After Hours as well as composed his next film Hugo).
 * 7) The pacing is perfect.
 * 8) As said before, the cinematography is brilliant, you won't expect as much as others do.
 * 9) The quotes are memorable, like "You don't smoke? What are you, one of those fitness freaks, huh? Go fuck yourself.", "I got this rat, this gnawing, cheese eating, fucking rat.", and "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."
 * 10) The scene at the elevator is easily one of the most shocking and unexpected moments in film history.
 * 11) *The ending is also very unexpected as well as satisfying.
 * 12) Thanks to Scorsese's amazing direction, all the scenes where DiCaprio and Damon start interacting with each other are extremely tense.
 * 13) The main villain, Frank Costello, is very entertaining and likable.
 * 14) The following cast members such as Matt Damon (Colin Sullivan), Mark Wahlberg (Sean Dignam), and Wahlberg's brother Robert (Frank Lazio) are Boston natives as is screenwriter William Monahan.

Reception
The Departed was very well-received. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 91% approval rating based on 280 reviews, with an average rating of 8.25/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Featuring outstanding work from an excellent cast, The Departed is a thoroughly engrossing gangster drama with the gritty authenticity and soupy morality we come to expect from Martin Scorsese.". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.