“The Irishman” may be Martin Scorsese’s most expensive film to date (thanks to the very impressive visual effects that seamlessly aged and de-aged the actors) and his longest film (at a behemoth 209 minutes) but that doesn’t automatically make this his best work. And while this is a great film; a highly ambitious, powerful and entertaining experience; it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Scorsese’s previous works. While the movie never feels boring in spite of its runtime, the film’s second act could’ve been tightened up just a little bit. There is some fat to trim here.

Now I should note that I am very much aware of the story’s apocryphal nature. Much in the same vein of “JFK” or “Amadeus,” this is speculative fiction, in a historical background. But given the film very clearly establishes that the narrative is Sheeran in his old age recounting his recollection from his hitman days, a lot of the historical inaccuracies (as well as moments of pure speculation) can be forgiven, mostly because the story that’s told, whether true or not, is quite compelling and interesting.

I should make note of one scene in particular that stood out as being egregiously bad. It’s the scene where Sheeran beats up a grocer. Scorsese’s decision to film it in one take was a total miscalculation, as it’s painfully clear that the then 74-year-old De Niro is having a difficult time making it look like a 30-year-old man showing no mercy in a no-holds barred fight; he moves so lethargically, and he’s clearly not hitting the guy. There’s no pain or sense of urgency in this scene whatsoever.

Thankfully, that scene is the lone exception. Every other scene is good at the very least, and fantastic at its best. The film’s haunting final 20 minutes is some of the most meaningful and poignant scenes of the entire year. Scorsese once again proves that nobody does crime films better than him. He keeps the characters interesting and compelling, even in the midst of them committing atrocious acts. He keeps the film focused and well-paced, even when he’s throwing a lot of information at you very quickly. The performances are all great, from Robert De Niro, to Al Pacino, to Joe Pesci (coming out of retirement, for what would honestly be a better and much more fitting swan song than “Lethal Weapon 4”).

With the film trimmed down a tad, and that one scene fixed, this could’ve been considered one of the year’s very best films. As is, this is a great, intelligent, and exceptionally well-made film that deserves to be seen.