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.

https://twitter.com/melvillmatic/status/1177621028941582336

https://twitter.com/kristapley/status/1177624308190859264

https://twitter.com/jasondashbailey/status/1177623826571649025

https://twitter.com/jhoffman/status/1177620230434168832

This is the only review that matters, though.

https://twitter.com/franhoepfner/status/1177623248743407620

The Irishman premieres on Netflix on November 27.