10 Movies That Seriously Don't Deserve Their Critical Acclaim

3. The Departed

A common response to The Departed's Best Film win at the Academy Awards was to note how many superior films Martin Scorsese has made that were far more deserving of an Oscar. As enjoyable as the film is, it doesn't hold a candle to Scorsese's greatest achievements. Nor, indeed, does it live up to the same standards as the film on which it is based. The Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs is an altogether leaner movie which packs a bigger and better punch, whereas The Departed throws in convoluted plot elements which make it more bloated than necessary. Neither Matt Damon nor Leonardo DiCaprio are at their finest, while Jack Nicholson steals his scenes - but not in a good way, as if Scorsese was afraid to reign in his antics. Critical comparisons with Michael Mann's excellent heat seemed to sum up the knee-jerk reaction that The Departed must be some kind of masterpiece - a more honest appraisal is that it's a well acted, well directed crime thriller which doesn't go anywhere countless other films have gone before and is a middling work in Scorsese's filmography.