"Casino (1995)" film review

Casino (1995)

Starring: Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone, James Woods.

Director: Martin Scorsese

Runtime: 178 min.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Action.

If theirs a favorite theme for Martin Scorseses movies, this is Mafia. Although “Goodfellas” is considered his masterpiece in this area, in “Casino” Scorsese portraits a different view of the mob by creating a perfect character; Robert DeNiro gives life to Sam “Ace” Rothstein, an expert in the casino arts and a master in running one in Las Vegas: “The Sin City”. With his unique ability of creating the perfect crime atmosphere, Martin takes all the characteristics of a Mafia family to a city without borders.

As said before Robert DeNiro plays Sam Rothstein, a guy involved with the mob who, due to his fantastic playing abilities and his characteristic intelligence to treat people, is send to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada to run a casino for the Family. Although things are looking great for “Ace” Rothstein, his old friend and famous “muscle of the family”, Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) arrives to the city with different intensions than him and starts to create a lot of trouble.

Pesci and his marvelous acting abilities, give life to a typical muscle man involved in the Mafia. Although he is not literally a “muscle man” Joe becomes the most feared man and also the most wanted man in Vegas. This cant be good for Rothstein, because he is involved with him. The problem turns even bigger when Sam starts to have marriage problems. He married Ginger “Sharon Stone” who slowly turns into the wrong women for him and assisted by his lover, Lester Diamond (James Woods) who plays a dirty and filthy PIMP, become the biggest problem for Sam Rothstein and his perfect life.

Although the runtime of the film is a bit long, Scorsese gives enough time for the characters to develop and for the problems to take form. This “Goodfells” styled movie is worth watching.

By: Daniel Segura