Very disappointing...

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

After building an empire with bootleg alcohol, crime boss Al Capone rules Chicago. Though Treasury agent Eliot Ness attempts to take Capone down, but even his best efforts fail due to widespread corruption within the City's police force. Recruiting an elite group of lawmen who won't be swayed by bribes or fear, including Irish-American cop Jimmy Malone, Ness renews his determination to bring Capone to justice........Before this film, DePalma was known for homaging Hitchcock in many great movies, and his work with a camera was pure genius.using the unique mise en scene, he makes the film something more than your average crime thriller. He makes the film classy, with some amazing shots from above, and some very memorable set pieces.Costner, whilst brilliant as Ness, is shadowed by performances from De Niro, and arguably a career best from Connery. Yes, his accent is non-existent, but that's a standing joke with the actor. His performance is intimidating, warm, and probably the most humanistic part of the film.Connery is the foundation for the film, and whenever he is on screen, you cannot take your eyes off him. He's clearly having the time of his life playing Malone, but always maintaining the conviction of his characters passion all the way through.Garcia and Smith complete The titular crew, and although Garcia fluffs a line when he is first introduced, the final third is where he really stands out.Drago is an intimidating henchman, and could have been the inspiration for the Weasels in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He is almost paranormal, and he has a element of sinister sleaze about him. He may appear underused, but his limited time on screen makes him feel more elusive.As for the set pieces, they are what make the film stand out as a classic. From the Canadian Mountie heist (and Connery interrogating a dead body), to Ness chasing Nitti across the rooftops, ending with the amazing line 'He's in the car'.But the standout scene is the homage to Battleship Potemkin, and the shootout whilst the pram is rolling down the steps in slow motion.The editing is perfect, the music a perfect accompaniment, and once again, the perfect wrap up of the piece ('Take him'.........'Two').By having a vintage feel to it, the film has aged remarkably well, and standout scenes in the film, (the above mentioned, and the harrowing death of Malone) never fail to thrill or pull at the heart strings.It's a film that needs to seen and revisited, and it will remain a true classic crime film forever.Here endeth the lesson..

The biggest issue I have with this movie, short of Kevin Costner's cardboard uninspired performance, is the lack of urgency in scenes that demand it, the overly long awkward pause, the slow trot as you are supposed to be running, sitting behind the cabin having a long conversation as the royal Mounties make an unwanted attack, it just seems everyone is far too casual and laded back, even in the face of death, nothing seems to get more than a brief notice. Overall a mediocre film that could of been epic, but the direction was no where to be found, I would guess many of these scenes were one take, because no one cared

The plot's pretty good, the staircase scene near the end with Costner & Garcia is one of my favourite in cinematic history, but what sets this apart is the screen enormous presence of DeNiro and Connery being DeNiro-ish and Connery-ish, Costner being well-cast, Garcia's semi-controlled brashness, and Charles Martin Smith's curiously lovable role. All that with the backdrop of some of Ennio Morricone's finest soundtrack-writing. It's a gut-wrencher every time I watch it.

If you are like me and like a good film-noir or two then I recommend you watch this film which plays out exactly like a film-noir, with camera work, angles, lighting and editing all perfectly suiting the polished and straight-forward style of the genre. The Untouchables is a movie that contains clichés from the genre but uses them to it's own intentional advantage and if this film were in black-and- white I would of believed that it truly was a movie brilliantly created around the 40's. Some do not like style over substance and that's okay, but in order to warn some viewers I will state that this is more of a visual feat in terms of experience, but myself I don't necessarily consider style over substance a bad thing and I have actually created a strong respect for films simply having good cinematography and editing. The editing flows the film all together in the traditional film-noir manner, comprehending the film into an understandable experience and never losing grip of it's tone because of the good editing. Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia and Robert De Niro star as the main characters and all deliver performances worthy of the film, both expressing their characters realistically and in a style fully according to the film-noir genre. If this all sounds good to you, then why not give it a watch?