Nice to see the old gang back. Now, retire.

Like war movies, I view highly acclaimed/recommended gangster films once and though I usually like them, I never want to see them again. I saw Saving Private Ryan once and thought: That was good, but I never want to see it again. (Same with Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now.) Also fits with The Godfather Parts I and II - saw those as a teenager and for my remaining 30 years, I have no interest in revisiting them.

When it comes to this gang of misfit besties, I've seen Goodfellas once (again, I liked it and shelved it for the rest of my days) and Casino. In that latter film's case, I've actually seen that many times since, well, I love Sin City and believe what they told me - mostly in narration - to be true. Since I'm not a gangster-film lover, but casinos are by bag, Scorsese's Casino remains as my favorite gangster/mob film and I've bought it when available on multiple formats and will watch it a few more times before I pass.

The Irishman has been recommended to me from at least 6 people. Not sure why. Despite all I told you above, this movie is JUST okay. Take away the painful...regrettable 209 minutes (or 3½ hour runtime,) it was slow as hell and I would've really dug a 2-hour cut of this.

Don't get me wrong. The direction at times is fantastic. It was Scorsese at his finest. But, only at times. And the acting, wonderful. Aside from Pacino, I 100% felt these characters were genuine. And the cinematography and special effects of aging/de-aging these actors was top notch.

But, after a while, it felt all so drawn out, I counted the minutes and played games on my phone as it droned on only stopping to read when some people got knocked off. Not only were the years 1979-1981 bad for mobsters, I would've preferred to see those stories.

I guess the entire three and a half film can be summed up with: A nobody stumbles into the Mob's grace and eventually becomes besties with Jimmy Hoffa only to have to make a tough, loyalty decision years later.

The first hour is fast paced, wonderfully directed/shot and gets me involved. Not to mention it reminded me of Scorsese/De Niro/Pesci's golden years in the 80s/90s. Unfortunately, Hour 2 slows down a bit, Hour 3 drags and during the last half hour, I counted the seconds.

Funny, the biggest thing on my mind was the controversy over Anna Paquin's minimal lines. That kept me going and what to look for in the last third. It did NOT live up to the hype.

And neither did the movie. For me, anyways.

If you LOVE gangster/mob tales, especially with De Niro, Pesci and Scorsese on board, oh, I'm sure you'll love this reunion. It was interesting, I'll admit, for I didn't know that much about Hoffa. But, as I stated above: will I ever want to see this again?

Hell, no.

***

Final thoughts: Try not to start your film at the end of someone's life. I know that's Scorsese's M.O. Both Goodfellas and Casino tell you who lives throughout the feature in the opening act. Same here. So...where's the tension with your main characters? But, who am *I* to tell the Avenger-hater how to craft a movie?