if you stand the Irishman against all the mobster like flicks of old, and I talkin Scorsese's Casino, Goodfellas or even Coppola's Godfathers I & II it's a weak showing...on it's own merits I'd still rate it 3 stars... I don't know if it was the acting or production, lighting or direction, but it just never reaches those heights even through some of the greatest peaks of drama.
I did watch out of respect for the director, cast and effort put into this, i understood it even took a decade or more to pull this together....I can say Joe Pesci was a standout in his role as Russ, and i say this with all love and respect towards Pacino and DeNiro, Joe was just great. Stephen Graham as "Tony Pro" had injected some of that spirit and spark from those old films into scenes, his interactions with Pacino (Hoffa) were great... What was missing? so much, but there were no strong female characters, so there was some balance missing...I mean, Sharon Stone in Casino? Loraine Bracco as Karen in Goodfellas? Talia Shire as Connie? those greatest of films not so great without them. I mean take those cigarette break episodes on the drives Frank and Russ took with the wives and add some bitchin and whinin and maybe those scenes come alive more? Frank's Daughter too, who sensed saw and witnessed, suspected so much, if she had some fighting spirit, counter to Frank that film and those scenes comes alive...every "thug" needs that antagonist/narrator to tell us what's right from wrong and we always got it from the women in those flicks... the women, besides Jo, were just mouses, and that was cryptonite to the story...I don't know, Martin just didn't take advantage of the power of those actresses as he has in the past....least of all in that Russ's own wife was considered "mob royalty" she had few lines, but you always felt she had more to say... Frank's 2nd wife, no lines? I mean why right?...What you gonna do. You get the story you get. It's a great tale with a less than great production and no fire from the female cast to help it along (uncommon in all the great mob stories). perhaps a cut or two would have helped the pace and I'll say it again Joe Pesci, even without his fire, did a great job. I did like that they put a note about characters that got whacked and how...they could have done a little more with that even i think... bravo but i say so sitting down. Could have been a masterpiece...