rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1987
Directed by Brian De Palma; produced by Art Linson; written by David Mamet
Starring Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Bradford, Patricia Clarkson
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'The Untouchables' may be your typical gangster movie but it's done so well
that it can be easily forgotten. We get the story of Eliot Ness (Kevin
Costner) and his "untouchables" against infamous gangster Al Capone (Robert
De Niro) and from the opening theme from Ennio Morricone we're hooked. This
is entertainment as it should be.
The movie is set in Chicago during the prohibition and an opening scene
involving a little girl shows how Al Capone is dealing with this. Eliot Ness
is the man to bring him down and to do so he brings a team together that
includes himself, officer from the street Jim Malone (Sean Connery),
accountant Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) and Agent Stone (Andy Garcia), a
great gunman. Together they risk everything to catch the greatest mob boss
of Chicago.
Brian De Palma gives his movie a great look. Cinematography, production
design, costumes are all perfect, creating the 1930's perfectly, and
together with Ennio Morricone's score the atmosphere becomes just right as
well. The actors are helpful. De Niro is sort of type-casted here, but he
does a great job with Capone. He has a scene with a baseball bat that has
become a classic. Costner and Garcia are effective. They have the key
moments in another classic scene that involves a staircase and a baby
carriage. For some moviegoers this will sound quite familiar.
The best performer though is Connery. I don't know if this is his best film,
'Goldfinger', 'The Man Who Would Be King' and 'Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade' are fighting for that spot as well, but it definitely is his best
performance. For the 'The Untouchables' he combines elements from the
characters played in the films mentioned above and it works. Every moment
where Connery is in becomes entertaining on its own.
'The Untouchables' plays on familiar ground, but it does that in a new
entertaining way, and when you like it, you like it. I know I did.