Casino (1995)

Released: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring:Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone, Frank Vincent, Don Rickles, Pasquale Cajano, James Woods, Alan King Kevin Pollak

Already known for his crime films, Mean Streets (1973), and the highly successful Goodfellas (1990), Scorsese returned to his winning formula in the mid 90's with Casino, which is considered a spiritual successor to Goodfellas.

Casino takes place in Las Vegas during the 70's and early 80's when the mob bosses in Chicago dominated the business and politics of Vegas, and their rise and fall to corporations and their own greed. Robert de Niro a long time companion of Scorsese plays Sam "Ace" Rothstein a master of betting on sports, his hot hand and methods of predicting the outcomes of sporting events attract the mob bosses who hire Sam to manage the Tangiers casino in Vegas. Despite his criminal records Sam is able to get a Casino license due to lax gaming laws and an inefficient system. He manages the Tangiers Casino efficiently eliminating cheaters trying to bankrupt the place and in the process he makes the mob bosses lots of dough.

The bosses send an old friend of Sam's, an enforcer/made man named Nicky Santoro to protect Sam, played by Joe Pesci another companion to Scorsese. Nicky is a hot head who only see's green when he comes to Vegas and he gets greedy going beyond his job, he brings in his own crew of enforcers and he starts to tear up Las Vegas setting up resteraunts and jewelery stores while committing burglary. His antics soon become an issue, attracting the police/feds and Nicky becomes blacklisted from all the major Casino's and his ties to Sam come back to haunt Sam's reputation among the gaming organizations which takes a toll on their friendship in the end.

Another part of the film is Sam's on and off relationship with Ginger McKenna a Casino hustler that he falls in love with, played by Sharon Stone. The relationship is frustrating to watch on screen, the two have a child but Ginger is still spending time with her ex boyfriend who is a con artist named Lester played by James Woods, and she is only in the relationship with Sam for his money and jewellery. The method to which Sam handles the situation is frustrating to watch at times, he kicks her out of his house, brings her back, kicks her out, it's like a vicious cycle.

You can easily compare this movie to Goodfellas in style. Casino uses a series of montages, and the main characters narrating at times giving the viewer their own points of view on the situation. Even a few minor characters get a chance to give their two cents. Scorsese shows off his flawless style and direction, however my main issue with the movie is that it relies too much on montages and narration. The first portion of the film is shot almost entirely with a series of montages and characters narrating their story. Combined with its 178 minute length, there are moments where the film drags.

As usual Scorsese brings back his usual cast with De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Frank Vincent who has a much bigger part in Casino than in Goodfellas as Santoro's right hand man. And like Goodfellas, Casino is chalk full of bloody violence and swears galore, about 420 f bombs are dropped in this near three hour film. While Nicky Santoro doesn't quite compare to Tommy DeVito of Goodfellas, Pesci delivers another great performance, and De Niro is quite contained throughout the film despite a few classic De Niro outbursts. I found the Sam/Ginger side story to be a little annoying at parts but Sharon Stone was a raging, money loving, drugged up mess, which is a good thing. She earned her best actress oscar nomination with this performance. Don Rickles, Kevin Pollak and James Woods complete the ensemble cast.

Casino is a long epic about the rise and fall of the mafia's control over Las Vegas. It tells the tale of how everyone in the organization got greedy and how their actions led to the mafia's downfall in Las Vegas and the beginning of a new consumer/corporate takeover of Vegas which is told in a rather depressing note. Fans of Goodfellas will enjoy this. I did enjoy Casino but it feels like another Goodfellas movie minus Ray Liotta and the movie did feel sluggish at times. Overall it is a good film but a step down from Goodfellas.

The Verdict: 3.5