The Departed ****
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin
Director: Martin Scorsese
Running Length: 2:29
MPAA Classification: R

Frank Costello (Nicholson) rules the streets of the Irish American community in Boston. Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) and Colin Sullivan (Damon) both start out on those streets, but their paths diverge. Both enroll in the police academy, but while Costigan wants to be a state trooper, Sullivan is Costello’s right-hand man, and just wants to be help out the man who helped him while growing up. Costigan’s plans are changed when Captain Queenan (Sheen) and Sgt. Dignam (Wahlberg) hand pick him for a job getting into Costello’s gang. He succeeds, and soon is passing information to the police, but Sullivan knows that there is a leak, and soon both sides are looking for the rat.

“The Departed” is a great movie, and will definitely be in the running for best picture come Oscar time. The cast is great all around, with everyone bringing their best performances to the table. DiCaprio and Damon are the core of the movie, and they prove up to the challenge. Nicholson is excellent as always, especially when he is allowed to just be Jack. The story is great, and is an example of how a remake does not need to be bad. Scorsese makes is all flow smoothly, and the movie does not feel as long as it is. This is easily one of the best movies of the year, I highly recommend seeing it.