MPAA Rating: R/ Genre: Crime Drama/Stars: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L. Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Frank Vincent, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Melissa Prophet, Bill Allison, Vinny Vella, Oscar Goodman, Catherine Scorsese, Philip Suriano, Erika Von Tagen, Richard Riehle, Frankie Avalon, Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows, Jerry Vale, Joseph Rigano, Gene Ruffini, Paul Herman/Runtime: 178 minutes

I think it can easily be said that, in many aspects, the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today, 1995’s epic crime saga Casino, is one film that has, since its initial theatrical release, quite often viewed by both a lot of the movie going public to say nothing of more than a few members of the movie reviewing community as a lesser grade copycat of the 1990 masterpiece GoodFellas. Yet if I am being honest with you dear reader, I really don’t think that is a fair comparison by any stretch of the imagination to make for a couple of reasons. First is the fact that yes, this pair of slices of cinema do have quite a few components in common on both sides of the camera. By that I mean here, much in the same vein as GoodFellas, is a slice of cinema that offers as a fantastic showcase for Martin Scorsese’s abilities as a director to say nothing of phenomenal work at not only taking us back in time to a distinct time and place courtesy of everything from visuals all the way to an impeccable soundtrack, but also manages to wrangle phenomenal performances out of both Robert De Niro as well as Joe Pesci. Besides those similar elements in play however, trust me when I say that this slice of cinema is very much its own animal. The second reason is because let’s face facts: dear reader there are seldom few slices of cinema about the mob that can claim to being anywhere close to the level that GoodFellas is on. Yet although Casino is not on GoodFellas’ level by any stretch, darn it all if it doesn’t manage to get closer than a lot of slices of cinema of a similar ilk. Indeed iconic film helmer Martin Scorsese’s truly grand saga of a certain den of sin in the heart of Sin City back in the 70s, the nefarious criminal element secretly running things behind the scenes, and how a hearty and plentiful diet of moolah, influence, and other corruptive elements managed to completely and utterly torpedo said establishment, but also a trinity of distinct individuals at the heart of it manages to hook you in right from the very beginning and then manages to keep you on the edge of your seat by and large for the remainder of its lengthy 2 minutes shy of 3 hours run time. Sure, this slice of cinema does have its flaws, but by and large this lengthy odyssey into a land of blind greed, white-hot passion, heartbreaking ignorance, and visceral violence makes for a film that is most definitely worth your time (even if you need several bathroom breaks to make it all the way through) to say nothing of another ace in its’ helmer’s already fairly stacked cinematic deck.

The plot is as follows: Taking us back in time to the long ago (only in terms of years) era known as the 1970s, Casino gives us a solid decade in the life of several characters. One of these is a guy known as Sam Rothstein or “Ace” as his friends and associates know him better by and who also serves as our main guide through this odyssey. Ace, we rather quickly learn from the man himself, is a phenomenally skilled sports handicapper who also happens to be an associate of an organized crime group known as the Mafia that is now being given the green light by the bosses to run a hotel/casino they, through their people in the Teamsters’ Union, are running in Vegas known as the Tangiers. However, in an effort to make sure they are compensated fairly well by their investment as well as keep it safe from rival gangs, we see the bosses also make the decision to send a boyfriend pal of Ace’s, a diminutive yet quick-tempered and fierce enforcer-type who is one of the best at cleaning up things, by the name of Nicky Santoro to head out to Vegas as well to help out. Yet, just as it looks like our dynamic duo has managed to hit the jackpot, we see life decide to throw them a fairly unexpected curveball. One that takes the form of a woman by the name of Ginger McKenna who might be a stunningly beautiful hustler, but who also is tied at the hip still, in more ways than one, to a sleazeball of a pimp by the name of Lester Diamond. We soon see that, following a truly memorable first meeting, Sam becomes absolutely fixated on wooing Ginger and getting her for himself. Sure, she tries to let him down easy by telling him that this might be a mistake since, among other things, she doesn’t have those kinds of feelings for him. However, they say that love is blind and Sam is definitely unable to see how this might be turn out to be a bad idea for him on both a personal and professional level and continues down this distinct path even though the only thing awaiting him might be a complete and utter annihilation of sorts of his life as he currently knows it. Adding further fuel to the fire however is the fact that we soon see Nicky also starts taking his enforcer habits way too far and as a result starts to bring some serious heat down on everyone involved especially Sam despite his attempts to put some serious distance between himself and his boyhood pal. Suffice it to say that, with copious amounts of cash, influence, and substances of both a liquid and powdery variety also beginning to play a part, we see things start to go downhill for our dynamic trio and it isn’t long before what started out as Heaven on Earth now starts to look and feel a lot more like a personal Hell. One that will not only come to make an impact on the world of organized crime, but on the lives of our trinity of main characters in ways they either should have seen coming from a mile away or that they never could have prepared for in a million years……

Now I’m not going to lie to you dear reader: Casino does have a narrative that is incredibly riveting, but it also does run fairly close to being a bit too full to say nothing of all over the place for its own good. Yet this is not the fault of the film proper. Rather, it’s because unlike GoodFellas which was already a finished and published book, this one was more a stack of notes when the movie adaptation was being made and only published a month before the film initially hit theaters. As a result, there are moments throughout where the film does seem to zip around in a manner that short changes characters and certain events you might think are more crucial to the narrative than they turn out to be and gives more material to ones that may not have needed that much to function effectively in the first place. Yet even with that issue in mind dear reader, there is no denying that this slice of cinema most assuredly makes up for it courtesy of a spot-on mood, an intriguing cast of characters, delightfully heated dialogue, and the truly glamorous style brought to this slice of cinema by film helmer Martin Scorsese. Suffice it to say that these elements all manage to combine and make a film that is more electric than all the hotels on the Strip both past and present. Indeed with the skill that only a master filmmaker can bring to the table on a slice of cinema like this, we see that Scorsese is able to place all of us under his alluring spell as he manages to showcase for all of us what Vegas was truly about at that point in time (and maybe even now come to think): not just the stylish and flashy exterior, but also the scummy underbelly that they do everything in their power to keep hidden. More than that however, we see Scorsese is also able to construct a collection of characters who are both three-dimensional and dysfunctional in some manner that start out overwhelmed by the power and profits from this place only to eventually find themselves getting eaten alive by them. Suffice it to say that there aren’t that many film helmers who could pull off such a balancing act without at one point in time dropping a plate or 2, but the fact is that Scorsese manages to do so with a skill that is downright legendary. On top of that, the man has an attention to detail that is phenomenal whilst also giving this slice of cinema a realistic vibe that aids this film immensely seeing as it is taking place somewhere that is meant to feel extremely artificial. Perhaps the icing on the cake however is the fact that much in the same vein as GoodFellas was a cinematic version of “Being a Gangster for Dummies”, this film could also be seen as the cinematic version of “Mob Casino Operations for Dummies”. As a result, some of this slice of cinema’s more intriguing moments pop up when the film takes the time to function as a guide to not only how things truly operate at these huge establishments, but also the crooked machinations that the public is not witness to as well as the scummy and lecherous mafia-type code that exists in the upper echelons of Vegas society. To that end, this slice of cinema is a film that manages to be in equal measure tasteful yet gaudy, nuanced yet over the top, and idyllic yet realistic. Put another way: it is very much what we as movie goers have come to expect from Scorsese so just sit back and enjoy where this film chooses to take you. At the same time though, this IS a Scorsese gangster movie so it might not surprise you to learn that there is a fair bit of visceral and brutal violence afoot. Suffice it to say that I can safely that these moments, like one involving a guy’s head being placed in a vice, are twistedly satisfying and, much like the characters themselves, do not hold back whatsoever.

Now another realm that Scorsese has always been aces (pun intended) at with his directorial efforts is in terms of getting a top-flight cast to play the various roles. Suffice it to say that this is an aspect that is a delightful part of this slice of cinema as well. This starts with Robert De Niro in the lead role of Sam “Ace” Rothstein and honestly this is another fantastic performance from a man who has given us more than his fair share of iconic turns throughout his career. Yes the character of Ace is one that is very much meant to be more than just a bit unlikable due to being an absolute ice king and control freak in nearly every facet of his life. At the same time though, De Niro does a wonderful job at also ensuring that the man is given spots of genuine humanity like a harrowing instance with his daughter where she has been put in a rather unique position by Ginger so she could give in to her drugs and alcohol vices, one where he tries to help his wife Ginger kick her addiction to drugs and alcohol to the curb via an inspirational and honest pep talk, and even moments where he tries to keep Nicky on the straight and narrow. Sure a lot of these might not work out as well as he may like, but for as highly flawed as the man is, there is enough material on display to show that he can be a good man; it’s just not easy to show it all the time when your wife is a gold digging addict and your best friend is a trigger-happy nut who would sooner hurt a man in a variety of ways first and then ask questions much later on. Speaking of the latter, I should also say that this is another incredibly lively and energetic performance from Joe Pesci in the role of Nicky Santoro. Indeed take his character from GoodFellas, increase his hair-trigger temperament by a scale factor of 5, and then give him a whole host of other issues that the allure of Vegas manages to only unfortunately exacerbate and you’ve got this guy. Yet, much in the same way as De Niro, the film also ensures that there are a few moments where we see a sliver of humanity present in this guy including a moment where he’s making his son breakfast in the morning that is oddly endearing in a way I would not have thought possible from a mob movie. Suffice it to say it’s a fantastic performance from Pesci that also manages to have a resolution that not only feels fitting, but also very much on-point for the character and all the choices that he has made throughout the film. Now the other big performance in the trinity of powerhouse performances in this slice of cinema comes from Sharon Stone who is downright electric in the role of Sam’s wife Ginger. Indeed, this is a very difficult role to play because this character is one who is all about looking her best and trying to make the world believe she is a victim whilst internally and behind closed doors being the worst kind of user/abuser imaginable. Yet despite the deplorableness of the character making her someone you wish Sam (and one other character) would just fling as far from their necks as possible, it is definitely a testament to Stone’s acting abilities that she can play someone so lecherous in such a way that we are still hooked on seeing where her arc in this film takes her. Yet besides the work done in this by the trinity of powerhouse lead performances in this, we also see that this film has a collection of support talent that from a wonderfully sleazy James Woods, terrific dramatic roles for iconic comedians Don Rickles and Alan King, and brilliant work from character actors L.Q. Jones, Frank Vincent, and Kevin Pollak to name but a few it’s clear that, for any flaws this slice of cinema may have in the deck that it is operating with, the work by the cast is most assuredly an ace in the hole this slice of cinema is blessed to have.

All in all, minor flaws aside, there is no denying that Casino is definitely yet another winning cinematic hand from iconic director Martin Scorsese. Indeed, the work done behind the camera at bringing the era and the world of the film so vividly to life is an engaging mix of vibrant, lively, and on-point whilst the work done in front of the camera by this slice of cinema’s fantastic cast of players is nothing short of brilliant. Suffice it to say that it might pale slightly if compared to GoodFellas, but trust me when I say that Casino is most definitely a rollicking trip down memory lane that not only shows how the potent forces of greed, influence, and excess can bring out the worst in people and make them engage in some really intelligence-questioning choices, but how it can also topple an empire as well. Make of that therefore what thou will dear reader. On a scale of 1-5 I give Casino “95” a solid 4 out of 5.