The DepartedMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 86 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 15+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

100

The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt
A ferociously entertaining film. Read full review
100

Rolling Stone | Peter Travers
A new American crime classic from the legendary Martin Scorsese, whose talent shines here on its highest beams. Read full review
100

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
It is intriguing to wonder what Scorsese saw in the Hong Kong movie that inspired him to make the second remake of his career (after "Cape Fear"). I think he instantly recognized that this story, at a buried level, brought two sides of his art and psyche into equal focus. Read full review
91

Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum
The very title The Departed suggests a James Joycean take on Irish-Catholic sentiment when, of course, this story is anything but: It's Scorsesean, and he's in full bloom. Read full review
90

Variety | Todd McCarthy
This reworking of a popular Hong Kong picture pulses with energy, tangy dialogue and crackling performances from a fine cast. Read full review
88

USA Today | Claudia Puig
The film's score and editing brilliantly heighten the film's energy, keeping the audience somewhat off-kilter and unsure where things are headed. Read full review
80

Washington Post | Ann Hornaday
Crackles right along, stopping only long enough for Scorsese's signature bursts of explosive violence. Those brawls feel a bit rote, but what's different here is a newfound playful humor. Read full review
80

The New York Times | Manohla Dargis
What helps make The Departed at once a success and a relief isn't that the director of "Kundun," Mr. Scorsese's deeply felt film about the Dalai Lama, is back on the mean streets where he belongs; what's at stake here is the film and the filmmaking, not the director's epic importance. Read full review
80

Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan
Frequently excessive but never dull, The Departed is a little too much of a lot of the things that define Martin Scorsese films but it's also almost impossible to resist. Too operatic at times, too in love with violence and macho posturing at others, it's a potboiler dressed up in upscale designer clothes, but oh how that pot does boil. Read full review
75

San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle
There's no attempt at greatness here, just a fabulously successful attempt at a good crime movie. The Oscar-bait self-consciousness of "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator" is gone. In its place is a buoyancy, an impish delight in telling a harsh urban story in the most effective terms possible. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for The Departed on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Violent, well-done thriller. Not for kids.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this film is not for kids -- but many will want to see it due to the incredibly heavy promotion during TV shows popular with kids. It's far too graphically violent for those under 17, including images of heads being shot and spurting blood, limbs being broken, bodies sprawled and bloody, and expressions of pain by victims of shootings and beatings. Sexual imagery includes a scene in a porn theater that cuts to the screen (the actors are engaged in sexual activity, but no X-rated shots are visible) and frequent sexual slang (some of which is homophobic). Characters smoke in almost every scene, and drink occasionally, and Billy takes pills throughout the film, indicating his increasing paranoia and depression.

Families can talk about the difficulties posed by loyalties and lies. In order to do their job, the two moles have to lie to their friends, associates, and family. What emotional difficulties does that situation create?
What kind of stress would that put on your life over a long period of time?
How would you feel if you found out someone you cared about was living a double life?
Also, what function does Madolyn serve as the protagonists' therapist and lover? And how are both moles' "father figures" -- Frank the gangster and Captain Queenan -- similar?

The good stuff

Positive messages: Both cops and criminals lie and abuse one another as a matter of course; men's bonding and competing are similarly violent.
Positive role models: Everybody seems to be working for someone else and it's hard to distinguish who is really the good guy.

What to watch for

Violence: Explicit, bloody, frequent violence: shooting (blood sprayed on surfaces), stabbing, head-bashing, shoot-out, suicide, car crash, kicking, exploding; a body thrown off a roof bleeds on impact; cops joke about bloody corpse/crime scenes and photos; a thug pounds on Billy's broken arm to ensure that there's no listening device in the cast; Frank fiddles with a bloody hand in a plastic bag while discussing plans; crooks burn down their hideout to avoid discovery; Billy worries about his coolness while working with a "mass murderer."
Sex: A couple of sex scenes show nudity (bodies in bed); Frank's girlfriend appears in underwear and they share sexual banter; recurrent sexual slang ("d--k," "c-nt," "screw," "whore," etc.); scene in porn theater includes brief shots of nude bodies and moaning sounds; Frank accuses priests of sexual abuse (using explicit language, like "p--ker"); Madolyn alludes to Colin's inabilty to perform sexually ("Do you want to talk about last night?"); Frank harasses teenager by asking if she's "started [her] period yet."
Language: Frequent use of "f--k" (200+ instances); derogatory uses of "queen," "homo," "guinea," "mick" other profanity ("douchebag," "ass," "s--t," "hell," etc.).
Consumerism: Background imagery in bars (for example, Coca Cola or beer logos).
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Frequent cigarette-smoking; drinking in bars (sometimes leading to drunkenness); Billy asks for Valium, then takes prescription anti-depressants repeatedly.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.