merelyaninnuendo Black MassThere is enough darkness in the lead character to give you goosebumps as you cringe yourself on the seat and luckily Johnny justifies it as he empowers each and every actor and character in this throwback of 70-80's old gangsta drama.

Rainey Dawn The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.A pretty good film concerning Mafia families - The Godfather, Serpico, or even Donnie Brasco would make a great feature to go with Black Mass.8/10

Dan Franzen (dfranzen70) James "Whitey" Bulger ran South Boston's crime scene with an iron fist in the 1970s and 1980s, but for a good part of his reign of terror he harbored quite a secret – he was actually an informant for the FBI. In particular, he was an informant for Agent John Connolly – although the usefulness of Bulger's intel was often in dispute – all the while continuing his violent rampage over the city against anyone who would stand in his way.The ruthless Bulger is played in Black Mass by Johnny Depp, an actor not really among the first who come to mind when the character of a crime lord is brought up. Depp has long been known for looking the part in each of his disparate roles and avoiding typecasting. But in Black Mass, even though he doesn't look like an Irish mobster – he completely embodies one. It's really his finest work, and that's saying something.The movie is told in flashback, as a member of Bulger's inner circle recounts the whole sordid deal to another FBI agent, including the involvement of Connolly (Joel Edgerton) as well as Bulger's brother, state senator Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch). The brutality of Bulger's day-to-day existence isn't tempered; men and women are killed or maimed or harassed for seemingly benign reasons. There seemed to be no middle ground for Bulger. He liked you, you lived. He didn't, you didn't. The movie covers his feud against his Italian rivals in Boston, the Angiulo family, as well as his foray into the high-stakes world of betting on jai-alai in Miami. And how did Bulger get away with so much? Mostly through the protection of Connolly, who used Bulger's (scant) information to further his own career. Crooks protecting crooks. The rabbit hole is deep indeed.But man, is Depp ever great. I stopped thinking of him as Johnny Depp soon after the movie began. It's funny – to look at Bulger in this movie, you probably wouldn't take him for a mob guy. He's wiry, he's balding, he wears glasses. Nothing tough leaps out at you. But the ferocity of Depp's exceptional performance puts that notion to rest. Cumberbatch, as his brother and fellow Boston native, is also very good and with a surprisingly believable accent. Kevin Bacon shows up as an FBI guy; I think this was his third go-around as a Boston-based law-enforcement officer.

ratnakar-techie I personally am not aware that much of the real life Whitey Bugler, so can't really vouch for the authenticity or how true it is to the actual story.As a movie buff, I liked the movie, though it had a strong hangover of Goodfellas, Departed and Donnie Brasco. The movie though not in the league of these gangster classics, is still pretty much a good effort. One of the prime reasons is Johnny Depp, in the main role. Personally, am a big fan of Depp, but of late most of his performances have not really required him to do much, except to wear masks, or wigs and act funny. After quite some time, good to see him in a role that does not require him to clown around( notwithstanding the fake looking prosthetics). As a vicious, pyscopathic gangster he is brilliant, radiating menace, with his presence, a flick of the eye, or his measured way of speaking. Apart from the fact that Bulger seems to care for his son, there is not much that is redeeming about him. He is selfish and opportunistic, he plays along with his friend John Conolly( Joel Edgerton) a Fed agent, promising to help him out, but in reality uses him for his own selfish ends. He is ruthless, and pyscopathic to a level, where he gets rid of people, at the slighest suspicion. Matter of fact, he is the guy who does not even trust his own shadow.The movie at one level runs as a morality play too, on the dangers of setting a thief to catch a thief. Conolly tries to use Whitey to get to the Mafia, by using him as an informant. However Whitey turns the tables on him, by providing him basically with junk information, and uses it as a cover to get his own with the rival Anguilo gang. In a sense, Conolly causes his own downfall, by getting too cozy with Bugler, maybe it could have been due to his childhood friendship with him. At one level, it could also have been a traditional Irish-Italian rivalry in 70's Boston. Was Conolly soft on Bugler, due to the Irish factor, as well as the community feeling? And what exactly was the relationship between the Irish mob and the IRA? This is where I feel, Black Mass falters somewhat, the performances are good, the scenes are well written, but director Scott Cooper, just tries to pack in everything, without really delving deep. The movie looks more like a montage of elements from earlier gangster movies, dinner table talks where hints are dropped, the brutal in your face violence, the liberal usage of the F-word, the protagonist going into a downward spiral and pulling others along. And the scenes are pretty good too, one particularly good one, where Bugler has a dinner talk with Conolly and his associate Morris, where he almost threatens Morris into fear and then does not. Or the scenes between Whitey and his brother Billy( Benedict Cumberbatch) a senator.But the rivalry between Bugler and the Anguilo brothers is treated in a pretty sketchy manner. This is an area where so much could have been explored, especially the Irish vs Italian angle, but director Cooper just gives it a very cursory glance. Again the link between Bugler and the IRA is not explored in depth, we really do not know what motivates him to help them out. And due to this, it just remains a middlingly good movie, instead of a classic.The performances are pretty good, apart from Depp, one more great turn is by Joel Edgerton, as the FBI agent who makes a pact with the Devil himself. Benedict Cumberbatch is however wasted in a role that really does not do much justice to his talent.