Black Mass (Depp back to glory?)

Mook

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Early buzz -

Jessica Kiang at The Playlist (B-):

t almost is the comeback performance we’ve all wanted so much — it’s certainly the most interesting thing he’s done in ages, and he never feels less than committed — and no doubt there will be those who’ll champion it as such. But amid a cast of ringers, beautifully costumed and caressingly photographed who get to act with their real faces, Depp is encased in a helmet of makeup and prosthetics that make him look ghostly, corpse-like, lizard-y and sometimes like a literal incarnation of the devil. […] This feels like a rare case where a live action performance falls into what animators call the “uncanny valley” — the narrow but unbridgeable gap that exists between something realistic and something real.


Tommaso Tocci at The Film Stage (B-):

Expectations of Depp are high on this one, now that audiences seem to have finally tired of his infamous cartoonish performances. The role of Jimmy presents a nice opportunity for some middle ground between those and his more ‘serious’ turns – this time he plays a gangster (like in Donnie Brasco, Blow, Public Enemies) and he can do his thing behind a mask. Pale, blue-eyed and bald – if not for the white tufts of hair seemingly about to take off from the sides of his head – he looks like Goodfellas’ Ray Liotta in an advanced stage of transformation into Gary Oldman’s Dracula. Depp’s magnetism serves the character well, even buried underneath the glacial menace of a man whose mission in life seems to be the manipulation of others.

Geoffrey MacNab at The Independent (3/5):

Black Mass is a triumph of sorts for Depp. It shows him tapping a malevolence and cruelty that many fans would never have guessed was in him. As a gangster movie, though, it is a frustrating and strangely dour affair. Bulger’s success lay in the fact that he was smart, ruthless and never showed emotion. He is simply too inscrutable and aloof a figure to make a satisfactory anti-hero. Movie villains don’t come any less loveable than this.

Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian (4/5):

Cooper and his screenwriters Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth have something substantial to add to the genre: making the point that gangsters do not arise from nowhere like comic-strip supervillains. They are the symptoms of political corruption, parasites created by agencies of the state, and by weak, credulous law enforcement officials who are content to sub-contract policing to the bad guys.

Scott Foundas at Variety:

f Johnny Depp’s mesmerizing performance — a bracing return to form for the star after a series of critical and commercial misfires — is the chief selling point of “Black Mass,” there is much else to recommend this sober, sprawling, deeply engrossing evocation of Bulger’s South Boston fiefdom and his complex relationship with the FBI agent John Connolly, played with equally impressive skill by Joel Edgerton.


Todd McCarthy at THR:

Depp […] takes control of the proceedings from the outset and never yields it, except for when he disappears for a while in the second half. He’s as charismatic as his character must be, fully convincing and frightening as his Bulger toys with friends and enemies alike to keep them guessing, hides his true intentions and dishes out punishment at an alarming rate. Depp’s instinct for observing, underlaying and keeping things in, then letting it all out when required, pays big dividends here in a performance far more convincing than his previous big gangster role, John Dillinger in Michael Mann’s Public Enemies.; it’s unexpected, very welcome at this point in his career, and one of his best.

Alonso Duralde at The Wrap:

While “Black Mass” is frequently engrossing, it has occasional pacing issues; some characters (like Dakota Johnson, playing the mother of Bulger’s child) disappear sooner than you’d imagine, while the film’s last act could stand to lose 15 or 20 minutes. (If the movie starts with hoods turning state’s evidence, thus guaranteeing the plot’s outcome, we shouldn’t notice how long it’s taking to get to the finish line.)
 

Mook

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Review

Black Mass Review - ComingSoon.net

The main reason why it transcends that misnomer is that Cooper has Johnny Depp giving possibly the best performance of his career, an absolutely mesmerizing portrayal of Boston’s “Whitey” Bulger that’s more than just make-up and hair to make him look like the notorious criminal. Some might note how similar Depp looks to Jack Nicholson in the role, which is ironic being that Nicholson based his character in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed on Bulger.

The Bottom Line:

It may take a good hour or more for Black Mass to find its footing and stand out among the many great gangster films that came before it, but there’s little question that Depp’s unforgettable performance is the reason to watch the movie and fans of the crime genre will easily forgive any similarities to past films because of it.
 

Mook

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Film Review: Black Mass

There are few negative aspects of Black Mass. After a great introduction of Kevin Weeks (Jesse Plemons), we barely hear from him. Also, when Bulger's son is in the hospital -- that scene felt wooden. Not Depp's fault, but the mother (Lindsey Cyr played by Dakota Johnson) shows no emotion when speaking of pulling the plug on their child. Despite this, I would strongly recommend Black Mass to fans of Depp, gangster movies, The Departed, and great cinema. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.



Grade A
 
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