Early Reactions To Martin Scorsese’s Netflix Epic ‘The Irishman’ Are Overwhelmingly Positive

One of the year’s most anticipated films is a three-hour mob story starring Dirty Grandpa himself. Your move, Marvel. Directed by Martin Scorsese, an actual grandpa, The Irishman is a years-in-the-making epic about Frank Sheeran (played by Robert De Niro), a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century, including Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), and Angelo Bruno (Harvey Keitel). The Netflix film had its world premiere on Friday during the New York Film Festival, and based on early reactions, it was worth the wait.

“THE IRISHMAN is good! takes 90 minutes to lock in & clear out the cobwebs / adjust to CGI, but the scope is a virtue, the performances are killer (Joseph! Frank! Pesci!) & it eventually coheres into a heart-stopping meditation on the myopia of time. an old man movie for the ages,” IndieWire‘s David Ehrlich tweeted, while Gothamist‘s Ben Yakas added, “The Irishman is a melancholic mob epic. Funnier than expected, and gets better and better as it builds. Pacino truly steals the show, but Pesci and De Niro both are excellent. The deaging tech is mixed, but Scorsese is best there is at what he does.”

Nearly all of the reviews are positive, with unanimous praise for the performances.

— karen han (@karenyhan) September 27, 2019

The Irishman is good. I laughed a lot.

— k austin collins (@melvillmatic) September 27, 2019

THE IRISHMAN is Marty’s old man movie! it’s about how you gotta have fifty conversations to do anything and everybody’s got an ego and it’s mostly just people chatting to each other and getting grumpy. terrific!!

— David Sims (@davidlsims) September 27, 2019

I love THE IRISHMAN so much because it’s far more than another gangland notch on Scorsese’s belt. It’s an American epic concerned with profound moral decay and a lifetime’s festering regret. De Niro is sublime. Pacino is electric, with Pesci the calming foil. And it flies by!

— Kris Tapley (@kristapley) September 27, 2019

Anyway THE IRISHMAN is like a movie genetically engineered to my interests so take my recommendation or leave it, but I think it’s a terrific picture – and an A+ example of a late period director saying, “oh, this is what you want” and stabbing you in the fucking neck with it