Casino (1995)
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Casino Movie Review
Casino is a 1995 crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone. It’s a familiar movie for the director, but one that has its strengths.
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“This guy could fuck up a cup of coffee“
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In Las Vegas, two best friends – a casino executive and a mafia enforcer – compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite. This movie was released five years after ‘Goodfellas’ and it was pretty much a rehash of that film. The reason why I preferred this one over that overrated film lies in its third act that is actually quite engaging.
The entire family drama that was introduced in this section of the story really worked. It worked in no small part thanks to the tremendous performance from Sharon Stone. She was unforgettable in the role of the neurotic wife of the protagonist. All of her scenes were very memorable and she sold this role effortlessly, delivering what is quite probably her career-best work.
But the problem here is that Casino only became engaging toward its end. Everything that came before it was the same old Scorsese mobster storytelling that we’ve seen so many times from him. There was nothing new under the sun here, but at least the movie wasn’t egregiously pro-gangster in its approach, which is another reason why I preferred it over the aforementioned film.
Robert De Niro was quite good here, but this was a safe, forgettable role for him. The same goes for Joe Pesci, who was funnier and more memorable in ‘Goodfellas’. All of the others failed to make any more meaningful impression, which was a problem for what is a three-hour movie.
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Yes, Casino is extremely long and you very much feel it. The engaging third act came way too late in the game while the rest of it was overly slow, uninteresting and lacking in memorable characterization and dialogue. The story overall is very familiar and tired. The technical aspects are strong, but far from the best that other Scorsese movies exhibit.
Casino was one of the safest Scorsese projects, one that failed to differentiate itself much from his previous crime films. The third act is excellent, featuring an engaging family drama and a career-best turn from Sharon Stone. It’s a shame that this came way too late in the game as the remainder of the film is tiresome in its plot, forgettable in its characters and way too long in it staggering runtime.
My Rating – 3.5
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