"Gangs Of New York" (2002) - Movie Review

I recently watched Gangs Of New York (2002) for the first time. I know, shocker for most of you as it's known as a "classic", I'm surprised it had never come across my radar prior as it's so well known but I was scrolling Netflix's searching for a movie to throw on that night and Gangs Of New York's thumbnail caught my eye, knowing nothing about the movie I jumped straight in from the poster alone, I did not read the release date, the cast, synopsis etc so I was pleasantly surprised by the many, many, many hollywood faces I saw in the first 10 minutes of the movie.

Martin Scorsese definitely kept his "style" and "vision" throughout the filming of Gangs Of New York. In true Scorsese fashion, the movie was shot in a very specific way and being one of his earlier works, you can truly see how much he has improved on his craft in one of his more recent releases. The atmosphere sucked me straight into the grime and disfunction of an "old school" New York city.

The story immediately starts with a gang war over a territorial dispute, two rival gangs deciding once and for all to settle all their differences with a winner-takes-all, all-out brawl for the "Five Points". I wasn't sure what to expect, as the early 2000s acting and theatrics are a tad cringe-worthy at times. I had moments of it throughout the movie but the opening scene "battle" was a bit comical in this day and age.

I persisted through as the storyline was interesting, and I'm glad I did as it amped up quite a bit, our story follows Amsterdam Vallon (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), who returns to the Five Points searching for revenge against Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) the main protaganist. It is a pretty classical revenge plot as we've seen many times over since the early 2000s. Can't fault it there as it delivers on what is expected very well.

Scorsese's vision is layered with much history and politics as you would expect in those early beginnings within New York City, understanding the workings of how things operate around the "Five Points" and, all under control of one Bill Cutting. Daniel Day-Lewis is incredible in his role as Bill, every time he is on the screen you feel the presence of his character and the weight of his actions/decisions. The first half of the movie felt very fleshed out with the storyline, character development and world building. I felt very absorbed within the world and the revenge plot at hand.

It did seem at times that Amsterdam was slowly forgetting himself within the power and positions Bill has bestowed upon him, unexpectedly, I'm sure as the story was meant to focus in his revenge for his father with the odd reminder of "why" he is searching for his revenge and bidiing him time perhaps for the perfect moment? Sure, I can believe that but a lot of the time it just seemed like Amsterdam fit right into the gang and his place within the world until an external force would remind him about this revenge he so desperately wants.

I felt that was the case also when Cameron Diaz's character "Jenny" was introduced, she felt very underdeveloped, just a pretty face who Amsterdam will happen to fall for and of course, she has an intimate relationship with Bill which thus finally sparks the revenge plot to commence, I feel that was unnessessary to the plot. Towards the second half of the movie things started to get very slow, stagnant, and stale. The movie felt like it went on a bit too long, certain scenes and issues were drawn out dramatically for way too long.

It felt like this movie was trying to juggle too many apples at once, the revenge plot for Amsterdam, the politics of a growing government, the drafting riots, the immigrants against the natives (new yorkers). It does quite often feel like two movies have been mashed into one by the end of it, leaving you quite confused and preplexed with how we've ended up here. But, again, I can't fault it too much being an early 2000s movie. These kinds of films set the stage for most modern movies we love, so I appreciate the inspiration it definitely provided. 😂

There was a lot to love about this movie. Being a "classic" movie I had yet to see in my 30 years of life felt quite nice too watching it in this modern day. The fights are brutal, the characters are enjoyable, the costumes were definitely gang-like although a bit silly. The movie definitely captured how rough and lawless New York City once was.

The ending was spectacular with the skyline and buildings changing over the years of time, all while Bill and Vallon observe from their grave sites, the city blossoming from which they once sowed the seeds. Quite a fitting ending for a movie based upon the historical side to a city.

My conclusion was a 4/5 - a very messy but undoubtfully memorable movie.