Death comes for us all, and in Martin Scorcese's "The Departed" it comes for a large number of people in an all-star cast that drives this movie towards its violent conclusion.
Since the cast is so impressive, it makes sense for me to think of it in terms of the performances, which are all stellar.
1) I don't think Jack Nicholson is capable of giving a bad performance, and although his underworld character wasn't as unhinged as the rumors suggested, he provides a sharp turn as the central figure driving the action. It isn't an all-time role for Jack, however, he does bring a certain half-crazy and menacing presence to all his scenes (and I was disappointed that he didn't snort cocaine off some woman's ass, but he did throw a mound of it on the bed and tell her to have her share. A true gentleman.)
2) Matt Damon plays Jack's surrogate son who infiltrates the police department to provide inside information. This is a slightly different take on Damon's blank, socipathic persona from "The Talented Mr. Ripley," and while he does a solid job here, I think he's been better in the past. 
3) As the flip side of the coin, Lenardo DiCaprio plays a cop who steps inside Nicholson's gang to help make a case against the kingpin. DiCaprio convincingly plays the paranoia and shows the how the persistent threat of being discovered as a rat can damage you in many ways. He succeeds in showing the vulnerability of the character, but is less convincing when showing his tough ball-busting side.
4) The surprising thing was that Mark Wahlberg was possibly the best actor in the movie as his foul-mouthed, hot-tempered police sergaent steals every scene that he's in and I only wish he had more of them. 
5) Alec Baldwin has a small role, but he chews it up and spits it out. Baldwin is phenomenal in these extended cameos (see "Glengarry Glen Ross") and he is funny as hell here as a high-ranking member of the police force.
All in all, "The Departed" was a very good, but not great movie. Scorcese builds the tension nicely in the first half of the film before the pacing ultimately gets in the way during the last 1/3 as the movie is about 15 minutes too long.
A weak attempt at a love triangle could have been left on the cutting-room floor as it was the least developed and malnourished of any of the plotlines.
"The Departed" is still worth the price of a ticket, however, to catch all these actors inhabiting a world where violence is an everday occurrence and the blood flies as fast as the expletives.
-BDS
Roger Ebert said this is the best crime movie since GoodFellas, i gotta check it out. thanks
I may pay matinee price...although I rarely pay more than that for anything! haha
I have always liked Mark Wahlberg, so may catch that football movie he's in (can't think of the title this early) Have you seen it?
Illstate - It's not as good as "Goodfellas," but still a really sharp movie. I can't think of a better crime movie recently, so Ebert might be right (but my brain is a little fuzzy).
Jlee - I belive you're talking about "Invincible," which is probably decent enough but I would wait for a rental. And I don't blame you on the matinee price because even that is getting high, and I can't remember the last time I paid full-price for a movie because you just set yourself up for disappointment if the flick isn't really, really good.
Ohhh... my friend said he wanted to go and see this movie. It looked very much like a guy movie, but nevertheless, I do like Jack Nicholson and Dicaprio. I may just see this one.
Mahalo,
Sahar.
This is defintely a guy's movie as there is only one major female character in the movie, and she's woefully underwritten.
But I would still go check it out.