Volition

Saw Gangs of New York last night with Tim and Paul. Set in NYC prior to the draft riots, some guy killed some other guys's father, and now the son is Out For Revenge (TM). The fact that it was three hours long was accentuated by the fact we were seeing it at the Plaza. For the unfamiliar, it is several light-years away from anything, and as such is generally regarded to be the only known example of a seamless, spherical tear in the fabric of space-time.

The movie was good, it kept moving at a steady pace, had a mostly-coherent plot, and didn't overemphasize the blowing up of things, the killing of things, or the mandatory love-story sub-plot. I regarded this as a good acheivement for a Hollywood film, especially one with Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. I was really impressed with Daniel Day-Lewis, there was a hint of ham, but I think overall he played a pretty good nineteenth-century bad-ass. There was some interesting cinematography early on, but that settled down after a bit. I didn't mind the directing, and although Tim will tell you that the editing was crap, but it didn't bother me too much.

The only thing that really annoyed me was the obligatory tribute to New Yorkers and the American People (TM) at the end. A minute of watching 1800's NYC poorly morph into modern-day NYC, which suprisingly included the Twin Towers. Oh please. You were a bunch of murderous, corrupt, morally bankrupt criminals then, and you still are now. Get over it. Also, the inclusion of the token African-American in Leo's gang is a load of bollocks as well, clearly designed to ease the American public's conscience; "Gee, they weren't all bad" and to make Leo look good. Bah!

rating: [****_]

PS: I'm thinking of starting my own gang, the dead wombats, what do you think?