Twelve years have passed since Casino graced our screens in 1995, the last "mob" movie we have seen by Martin Scorsese, arguably the finest director of crime pictures. Indeed, since then, with the exception of a couple of films, the mob movie has gradually died out. So when the finest director of crime pictures releases a film of the crime genre, it's difficult not to get excited. As an Italian-American born in Little Italy, Scorsese has always brought accurate, gritty and in part semi-autobiographical crime thrillers to the screen, but the important thing to note is that Scorsese primarily focuses on the way of life of the people he is portraying, rather than sticking to a tight plot. That's what sets the Departed apart from its siblings; it's all about the plot, and less about the day-to-day dealings of its characters that has made Scorsese so popular in the past. In many ways, this is Scorsese taking his films to a new level, and is breaking new ground. However, this is a double-edged sword, which is in part the doom of the Departed that could well leave it shunned in years to come as it's no longer Scorsese concentrating on what he is truly expert in.

However, the atmosphere of the city of Boston, (which, again is new ground for Scorsese in his departure from New York) is captured perfectly, as well as Casino captures Las Vegas and Taxi Driver captures New York. One can almost smell the strench of tobacco in the Irish pubs, the scent of cologne in the police department, and the reek of the sewers on the streets. The cinematography is all there, as sky-scrapers loom on the city skyline, and lone yachts are distant on a murky grey sea from the high rise apartments. The police department offices, open glass rooms, show the reflection of its employees in the busy buzz of work. Everything feels modern and developed, a change from the seventies crime Scorsese favours so much; it's all a change because the world the characters live in is the present day, with technology -- flat screen computers and swish cell phones -- a vital part of their way of life. The plot bases itself on the subtle use of cell phones to tip off backstreet dealings, and furthermore, to tip off police raids on the backstreet dealings. No more is crime based on an unwritten code of honour; it's more ruthless, it's more organised, and more deadly than ever before. Everyone, in the grand scheme of things, is out for their own and loyalty is as uncertain as survival after being shot in the head. It's a very different world that Scorsese handles, but he pulls it off to perfection, making the transition from the almost anarchic decades of rock n' roll and cocaine to a ruthlessly ordered decade of cell phones and paranoia.

In some ways it's a shame, because Scorsese misses out in his usual master class direction. His direction is not weak in the film, with some hard-hitting moments, and his flawless trademark of the tracking shot is there, but the Departed is by no way as audacious as projects as Gangs of New York, Casino, or Raging Bull, for example. He doesn't really try anything new, and breaks no new ground, so in the end the direction is solid and better than most directors' best, but it's not brilliant, as seasoned Scorsese fans have come to expect. Moreover, the editing by Scorsese's usual editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, overdoes it at times, often ending up being too choppy. It keeps a fast pace, but does not always work, and it is sometimes unclear as to whether or not there has been a large lapse of time in the story. Scorsese's use of music, which literally carries his best work, is also not quite up to scratch. There's some good songs, and the recognisable use of the Rolling Stones at times, but one instance sees a 'Stones classic "Gimme Shelter" starting up in a scene, only to suddenly start again as if on repeat half-way through. It doesn't quite have the same effect or genius as it has done in the past. But the mistake that many people will make when going to watch the Departed is in believing that it's like Scorsese's old work, when it is in fact quite different. It's not a crime biopic or crime drama, it's a top-notch crime thriller that combines a couple of elements from Scorsese's usual style.