Casino, directed by Martin Scorsese, stars Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, and Joe Pesci. The movie is about Sam "Ace" Rothstein and Nicky Santoro running the mob business in Las Vegas. Sam is the operator of the Tangiers Casino making sure that it makes money and to kick out all the cheaters. Nicky is the strongman that straightens loose ends and controlling the locals. Soon Sam falls in love with Ginger, a smooth hustler, and tries to straighten her. As time passes, Nicky falls into violence and drugs that put the mob operation in jeopardy and Ginger falls into alcohol as the Feds start catching on to Sam and the mob's questionable ways. Will Nicky and Ginger be able to escape their addictions? Will the Feds catch the mob? Read on to find out...
I found a new style of reviewing movies that will make it easier for me and help you find what part of the review you want to read by splitting it into categories. Hope you enjoy the change.
Plot: The plot is pretty complicated but it is good. It is a 3 hour movie so its a story that you just got to see instead of trying to understand it from my synopsis. Still it is pretty strong here but as I have said before this film feels a lot like Goodfellas. We start by learning the ins and outs of the casino business by following Sam and Nicky. It is fun and finely edited that feels both fluid and visually well done. Then Ginger comes into the picture and things slowly start to snowball down. Sam falls in love, marries her, and decides to let her into his life, even his mob life. At the same time, Nicky moves to Las Vegas and starts running the muscle behind the casino. Things go from paradise to hell when each person's obsessions get in their way to a good life. Sam's obsessions with a perfect floor causes him to fire a floor manager that pisses off some of the heads in the Gaming Commission which leads to him losing his gaming license. Nicky's obsession with power causes him to kill innocents, fall into drugs, and eventually pisses off everyone around him. Ginger becomes obsessed with money, jewelry, and alcohol. Ginger soon files for divorce and runs off to her past love, Lester, with her and Sam's daughter. Soon the Feds catch the mob business and take everyone down including Nicky. Once free, Nicky kills off one too many people and the mob eventually turns on him. Ginger ODs while hanging with pimps and druggies. Sam lives off his days running bets for the mob again and that is where we end. 3.5/5
Cast: I enjoyed the cast in this flick. The highlight comes from Sharon Stone who does a vast transformation through the film. We start off by seeing her at the top of the world and then fall to hit rock bottom. She slowly but surely falls deeper into alcohol and her obsession with jewelry. She is inspiring and powerful and gives the performance of her career. Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci do their usual here but nothing special. Pesci is great as the fiery Nicky and was a perfect cast on Scorsese's part. De Niro, while this role does not stand out, is still awesome and shows that even his smaller roles are strong and worth watching. The supporting cast plays a great role too. James Woods was great, Kevin Pollack was small but still nice in every scene he was in. Plus seeing Don Rickles and Frank Vincent playing mobsters is always fun. 4/5
Script: The script is well done. There is some great voice over work that will also remind you of Goodfellas. It is written by Pileggi who also did Goodfellas so it is very similar writing styles. It is well done but nothing really stands out here as a great script. 3/5
Direction/Visuals: This was classic Scorsese here that also reflected a lot of his Goodfellas style. There was even a nice death montage that fit in well. Plus this film has an amazing soundtrack that fit each scene great. It is always fun to watch Scorsese's style so if your a fan of his you will enjoy Casino. At the same time the cinematography matched the style of the 70s by looking shiny and glamorous. There were some great tracking shots as well and some nice editing that made this a nice Scorsese flick. Unfortunately compared to his other efforts this does not stand out too well. Though it isn't terrible at the same time. 4/5
Overall: This is a fun film that is well put together. But at the same time there are some flaws, for some reasons some of the shooting scenes it seems that they forgot that blood comes out of a human. The script is fun, the cast great, and the story is fun and engaging. Like Goodfellas, you get a nice inside look into a world that we probably didn't know existed. It does get complicated at points and you do need to pay close attention to the details. Still it is worth a watch, but it won't be one you talk about with friends.
3.5/5
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