Two of director Martin Scorsese's best films feature both Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Raging Bull (1980) and Goodfellas (1990) were nominated for Best Picture, and deservedly so. It seemed logical for Scorcese to attempt a third cinema classic with his two volatile 'tough guy' leads.

The result was Casino, which like Goodfellas was about three hours long, and featured the rise and painstaking fall of an organized crime ring. Both movies were from fact-based books by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplays with Scorsese. One major difference was that Casino was set in Las Vegas, and not the 'Mean Streets' of an inner city ethnic neighborhood.

While Vegas provides a colorful setting, as the story unfolds the viewer still has a sense of deja vu. Pesci's character Nicky is especially familiar. He's a bullying and vicious killer, whose body count rises with an unreal impunity.

But in Goodfellas, the hits are few and far between, at least until the walls close in on the gangsters. In Casino, Nicky kills people simply because he is mean and greedy. Not only is the character completely unlikable, it is difficult to imagine why the more stable Ace (De Niro) would even associate with him.

The characters in Casino are individually interesting, but they don't fit together well. Ace is a determined casino manager who keeps the odds in the favor of the house. Then why would he marry Ginger (Sharon Stone), whom he knows to be a grifter and prostitute under the thumb of low-life Lester Diamond (James Woods, largely wasted here).

Ginger's decline from a wealthy socialite homemaker into a shrieking alcoholic monster isn't well explained, although her pathos did land the film's only Oscar nomination as Best Actress.

Scorsese seems to know that the story doesn't quite work, and he tries to overcome its weaknesses through narration and classic oldies.

Especially early in the film, the narration is so non-stop that you can close your eyes and follow the plot. The shots are set up to provide visuals for the narration. While narration is a valuable and natural technique for revealing the thoughts of characters, it is generally bad form to use it merely to expedite story development.

Similarly, classic pop songs can evoke a mood, but it is the spirit and not necessarily the lyrics that are important. For example, the Rolling Stones' fabulous "Heart of Stone" is used to portray Ginger as a ruthless hustler. Besides a difference in gender, the song doesn't fit because its message, psychological abuse, doesn't match the accompanied scenes, which portray her as a high-class but obvious escort.

Casino is the last of eight films directed by Scorsese that star De Niro. The two were certainly good for each other from the beginning, with Mean Streets launching both of their careers. But Scorsese seems to have run out of good ideas, and De Niro has since drifted into comedy.

Casino may have been the last chance for these two cinematic giants to make yet another great film. But while it was a noble effort, it never fully gets off the ground. (57/100)


Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older