I'm sure cast and crew had a blast making this movie, but for us as fans I think we could of benefited from a younger cast, an ambitious cinematographer, and a less patient editor. I feel that so much was let to rest on the dynamism of these once great actors, resulting in stifled scenes that lumber, and the presentation of caricatures quickly assumed, rather fully fleshed characters.

There is little to grasp the viewer and pull them through this movie. Even as a fan of long, roaming, historic and biopic works, I found myself asking just why was I watching this film far too early into its 3.5hrs, and far too often. It is not that it meanders, but plods, with very little justification or pay out. Contrary to some I am in favour of the floating tiles that appear over background characters, informing us of their names and the situations of their eventual death, it shows the knowledge of the film-maker of the history surrounding the event. There are some gold turns of dialogue, and the set up of placing two actors at a table and have them play against eachother sometimes pays out. But rarely.

For the whole the film is spirited, but slow and shallow. There is very little feeling of emotional engagement or risk. It's a history lesson that no one wanted, from a point of view that is out-dated; lacking in any character work other than three, sometimes superb actors, rolling it off the cuff in criss crossing A/B shots of talking heads. My recommendation would be to go watch Casino. It's shorter, it has a more substantial story, and the actors earn their tremendous wage.