One of the best history and crime films. All of the actings are great.
I really felt sad when one of Al Capone's cops killed Oscar Wallace. I really scared that one of Al Capone's men will kill Eliot Ness' wife and daughter, but this didn't happen.
Classics never betray you! I know the actuality is not so easy in fact, and I know this is entertainment, but I love this kind of show really. Everyone may be out of fashion nowadays but they are still cool to me.
It's almost impressive how bad this movie is. None of the characters are likeable, none of the actors do a good job, with the exception of Connery. It's probably pretty difficult to make an audience empathize with a character like Ness, but a smarter director would have recognized that and adjusted accordingly.
This film includes all the ingredients it takes.
Some rather forgettable stunt acts, dialogue seeming as if it came from the 50ies, hilarious mounties hunting for two trucks on a bridge. Kevin Costner was not any better when he was younger. Sean Connery selling his Scottish as Irish is funny, I must admit, but perhaps the American audience might not have heard that detail anyway.
It got so many of the factors to make a terrible film. And yet it seems to still be regarded as a milestone classic.
I see absolutely no point in that...
The Untouchables is great because of the acting of Sean Connery, Andy Garcia and Robert De Niro. On the other hand, Kevin Costner reprises his usual wooden role with little creativity. The story of Eliott Ness is an interesting one and makes this film worth watching in its own right.
Maybe if i watched it in the 90's i would have appreciated it a little more. The fact that it escaped me so long i think makes even my consumption biased. I thought it was too cheesy to truly appreciate. I think i've been spoiled by the rawness of Boardwalk Empire for movies set in this era.
Great movie. Eventhough it’s so over the top and some-what comical. When Ness’ team takes on bad guys in one scene. That you don’t expect the film to take such a violent and dark turn. When his team members start to be violently taken out.
The capture of Al Capone.
I remembered this as one of the excellent, classic mob movies, but I found that it really didn't age well. Even though the plot makes precious little sense in so many places, it still somehow manages to often feel predictable. It sure produced some unforgettable scenes – who wouldn't remember the judge's gavelling? – but because they're so often surrounded by mediocre writing, they feel weirdly isolated.
The pacing is all off, the movie is two hours long but feels rushed. The melodramatic music is telling me that the death of this or that character is supposed to affect me, but they weren't established well enough to make me care much. There's also entirely too much clumsy, expository dialogue.
For such a respectable cast, I was also disappointed that there's a lot of bad acting, including and especially from the lead stars. De Niro and Garcia are the only ones who do a passable job throughout. The rest are overacted and not believable, Connery being the worst offender (silliest death scene ever?), closely followed by Costner.
It's still an entertaining two hours and not a waste of time. The sets and wardrobes are nice to look at and there's some decent photography. But considering that the title and its reputation, the people involved, and somehow also my personal memory of having seen it decades ago made me expect a true classic, it was just a big letdown.
I never encountered a movie with pretty high rating across the board, that wasn't at the very least:
- ok to watch one time;
- I can see the appeal if I saw it when it was released back in that decade. Now it drags, acting is over the top, script is too simplistic etc.
- Oh, I really like/hate the style/framing device they used. And it's really working/not working for me.
But THIS? I can't honestly wrap my mind around idea of someone finding it to be... anything.
Acting? No.
Style? No.
Script? Very funny.
Camera work? No way.
Pacing? Nah.
Sets? The ones that looked like they were on soundstage? Hell no!
"If you walk through this door now, you're walking into a world of trouble. And there's no turning back. You understand?"
Rest in peace - In honor of Sean Connery
This film was great. I thought it would have way more De Niro in it than it did, but I enjoyed the score and Sean Connery. There is an epic moment involving stairs and I wonder if that inspired other movies slow motion moments in cinema.
Eliot Ness: "I said never stop fighting, till the fight is done!"
Robert De Niro acted on better mafia movies, this definitely doesn't deserve 8/10. It's not a bad movie though, 6.5/10.
Although belonging to a typical genre, this film certainly stands out. Don't miss it!
Finally got around to watching this. I liked it, but I think I waited too long. The score is overbearing and schmaltzy. Some of the action scenes are pretty hammy. That whole scene in Canada is unbelievable. And not in the awesome sense, but in the I can't buy that many dudes with tommy guns can't hit four guys coming at them on horses. That feels like I'm nitpicking but I guess I'm using that moment to sum up my issue with some of the action. This movie feels older than it is. Like it came out in the 60s. Not that that means it's bad, just that it has the editing and fight choreography of an older era. Oh, and I was cracking up when Kevin Costner was dragging that carriage up the stairs. Surprised that baby didn't bounce out of there.
2nd viewing 7/2019:
Feel like I was a little hard on this movie 3 years ago. Bumped it from a 7 to an 8. Also I'm into the score now too.
I was 17 when I saw it opening weekend. I can't remember loving it then, but seeing it again 19 years later I find it very moving. I don't know if it's Sean Connery's performance of a man reclaiming purpose at the end of his life, Ennio Morricone's stirring score or Mamet's script that turns an action drama into a moral crusade.
Whoa, whoa, whoa... Sean Connery won an Oscar for this movie. That makes it go up half a star for sure. He polices like I'd imagine Sean Connery policing in real life. He don't take no shit; willing to act crazy getting the job done.
So, yea this movie has a handful of issues. Or you might call those Brian DePalma traits. That is up to you as a viewer I guess. I've seen so many of his other films that this feels pretty well balanced compared. The problems I have are not that big compared to the enjoyment I get out of the film.
Did I mention Sean Connery got an Oscar for this?
Shout by JoshBlockedParent2022-02-17T21:51:32Z
We need to pause and appreciate the significance of what De Palma has done in The Untouchables. He has achieved the rare feat of taking a movie that should've been 90 minutes, turned it into 120, and made it feel like 150. Connery is the only great thing in this film. De Niro, Costner and Garcia are comically bad. The score is excurciating. Camerawork is cheesy. And the moral of the story is that moral policing is dumb, dumb, dumb. Liked it a lot when I was 13. Not so much anymore.
Story: 6...glorifying the earlier version of America's stupid drug war
Script: 7
Performances: 6...Connery carries it alone
Misc.: 5
Influence: 8...for some reason this is still impactful
Overall: 6