The Irishman: Great Acting But Not A Great Film!

This latest and possibly last film by the legendary director Martin Scorsese is being hailed as a great film. I think it's a very good movie, with great acting and some wonderful scenes, but I don't think it's in the same class as "Raging Bull" (1980), "Goodfellas" (1990), and my favorite "The Departed" (2005). The movie is adapted from the book "I Heard You Paint Houses," by Charles Brandt. The film follows the life of Frank 'The Irishman' Sheeran (Robert De Niro). Sheeran was a WW II veteran who started driving a truck after he was discharged. He becomes friends with Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) and a Teamsters Union leader. Eventually, after meeting and starting to work for Mafia boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), he climbs the ladder of "success" and becomes one of the top hit-men for the Mafia. The acting by the three leads is wonderful (no surprise) and each of them could be nominated for an AA, although I thought Pesci's performance was the best. There are many terrific scenes, but the film is bloated at 3 hours and 30 minutes. It easily could have been edited to 2 hours and 45 minutes and not lost anything. Essentially, it's too much of a good thing. It's a must for Scorsese fans and you can watch it for free on Netflix now. You can watch it in two nights instead of at one sitting, which might make the film's length less of a problem. If you watch it at home, you can eat some cornbeef and cabbage while you watch it!