Black Mass (2015)

I remember liking this a lot when I first saw it, but on watching it a second time, there are a couple of problems. Depp's great here, there's no denying that, in fact the majority of the cast is great here, the main problem is focus. The film really has no plot, it just jumps from moment to moment, without any real connection. It's obviously about Bulger being an informant, but I feel like this could've been handled better than this. Scott Cooper has talent here though, he has a passion for what he does, but he's a bit overzealous with this being only his third film. It takes cues from other mob movies well, there's nothing here that feels like a blatant knock-off of "Goodfellas" or "Casino", and the story here could be interesting with better connectivity. In the hands of Scorsese, this would've been a classic, but Scorsese already did this, he did "The Departed". I know that comparison has been made a million times before, but it's just a better, more engaging movie than this. The performances are great, the premise is great, it just lacks focus. It hits all the bases, just not hard enough to really leave an impact. This might've worked better as a miniseries actually, not condensed into a 2 hour movie. I like Scott Cooper though, I think he has serious potential, similar to "Hostiles", a few minor changes and this would've been a lot better.

I know there's a fair school of through that says Johnny Depp's star has waned over recent years, but I was surprised that I'd never heard of 'Black Mass' until it was on sale on DVD. It sounded pretty good - a true life tale of how a gangster turned Government informer, plus it had a stellar cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon and that creepy guy out of 'Breaking Bad' who looks a bit like Matt Damon. However, when I started watching it, I soon realised why it never really set the Box Office alight.It's dull. That's it. This is going to be a pretty short review. There's really not that much I can say about it. It's just boring. I suppose I've watched a lot of these gritty true-life gangster/snitch films in my time, therefore I couldn't see anything new here. However, I really do think that anyone fresh to the genre would find this a little slow and hard going. It may have a decent cast, but that almost becomes a problem. The film bounces around from actor to actor and from present to past and feels completely disjointed, like each scene doesn't really relate to the one that's gone before. Then, because every scene doesn't feel like it should follow the one before, the whole film comes across like one big series of mini stories where the actors are never allowed to show their considerable talents because none of them are ever allowed the time to do so.Whatever the public mood is towards Johnny Depp right now, he's always been one of my favourite actors and I'm certain he has plenty of good roles ahead of him. Just like I know he loves to immerse himself into whatever part he's playing and is more than happy to do whatever it takes to 'look the part.' As with 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' he's almost unrecognisable as the main character, sporting a balding hair piece and more than a few added wrinkles. However, it takes more than a good set of prosthetics to make a movie and, unfortunately, his passion for his craft doesn't save the film.It's not terrible, but for the cast that's been assembled for this production you'd be expecting something along the lines of 'Goodfellas.' Sadly, the only two words that come to mind here are 'boring' and 'forgettable' (sorry, Johnny).

Black MassThere is enough darkness in the lead character to give you goosebumps as you cringe yourself on the seat and luckily Johnny justifies it as he empowers each and every actor and character in this throwback of 70-80's old gangsta drama.

The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.A pretty good film concerning Mafia families - The Godfather, Serpico, or even Donnie Brasco would make a great feature to go with Black Mass.8/10