Movie Review: Gangs of New York

This was not a good movie. And here's why. 1. The Plot. From the first five minutes, it is clear that there will be a final confrontation between Daniel Day Lewis and Di Caprio. But there is no development other than a constant stream of images of civil war era New York, all of them untrue. 2. Historical accuracy. Even the best timepiece movies contain fiction but this is absurd. The sub title to this movie should be "Where Are The Cops." We have the opening scene carnage in which hundred of men are involved in a fight with knives, hammers, and meat cleavers. There are no police and no bystanders to stop or witness this slaughter. The scene is implausible. Next, there is arson sanctioned by the rogue fire department wherein buildings are torched in the middle of the city while looters walk into burning cauldrons. But the award for sheer incredulity goes to the scene where Daniel Day Lewis is shot in a public theater in front on thousands. His assailant is killed. Yet no police. And speaking of police, Di Caprio murders one at night and we next see the dead officer's body hanging in a public square in broad daylight while Boss Tweed's stands by helpless. the whole spectacle is laughable for its lack of realism. Lastly, the final scene which pits two gangs in a life or death struggle within 100 feet of one another. One of the gangs is assaulted by cannon fire from a ship in the harbor which must be a few miles away. The whole notion of the Union Army intervening in a gang dispute is crazy. But what made me laugh was that cannons were never accurate enough to hit their targets within 100 feet from a few miles offshore. The entire movie is filled with historical blunders. I am an admirer of Martin Scorsese but this film is bad.