Sitting at a so-so 41%, John Trank's Capone (2020) hasn't quite delivered on its promise. Starring Tom Hardy as the legendary mob boss, the film depicts his final year as the FBI closes in on him and the ailing man attempts to recover the memory of where he's stashed his immense criminal fortune.
While many critics have lauded Hardy's performance, just as many seem to have been turned off by the grotesqueness of his characterization, and almost everyone has been left cold by the weaknesses apparent in Trank's direction and the script, itself. Below, we list 10 other gangster films based on real crime figures that the critics seemed to enjoy more than Capone.
Hoffa (52%)
Jack Nicholson stars in this dramatic biopic of Jimmy Hoffa. Told over four decades, Hoffa charts the American union boss' rise to infamy as head of the Teamsters Union to his downfall and eventual disappearance at the hands of the Mafia.
Directed by Danny Devito, Hoffa treads similar ground to last year's epically-long The Irishman, and though fairly skin-deep, features a must-see performance by Jack Nicholson at his best.
White Boy Rick (59%)
Set during the height of the 1980s crack epidemic in Detroit, Yann Demange's film tells the story of Rick Wershe (Matthew McConaughey), a single father who sells illegal guns to his family. When the FBI catches wind of the operation, they convince his son, Rick Jr. (Richie Merritt) to go undercover as a drug informant, or risk landing his father in prison.
With a cast including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern, Piper Laurie, and Bel Powley, White Boy Rick is a family/crime drama that coasts on the great work of its actors that makes up for a fairly rote script.
Public Enemies (68%)
A retelling of the story behind the FBI's very first "Public Enemy Number One," Michael Mann's film stars Johnny Depp as Depression-era gangster John Dillinger's attempts to evade J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) and his top agent, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale).
Immaculately crafted by Public Enemies doesn't quite sell the dramatic stakes of its setup, but Depp is magnetic and the technical craftsmanship is aces.
Black Mass (73%)
Johnny Depp stars as James "Whitey" Bulger" in this biopic about the Irish crime boss's 1970s collaboration with the FBI to do battle with the Italian mob.
Depp again disappears in the meaty lead role, and director Scott Cooper imbues Black Mass with appropriate intensity and drama, even if it can't quite crack the man at its center.
Mesrine: Killer Instinct (82%)
Upon returning from the Algerian War, Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) finds a glamorous 1960s Paris bursting with riches for those audacious enough to grab them. As he begins to climb the criminal ladder, he pulls off an ambitious heist before fleeing to Canada with his girlfriend, Jeanne (Cécile de )
Jean-François Richet's biopic is a character study as weighty profound as only the French could produce, buoyed by Cassel in a César winning performance.
The Untouchables (82%)
Having gained power as a bootlegger, Al Capone (Robert De Niro) is the number one crime boss in all of Chicago, until agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) seeks to bring him down.
This crime flick from Brian De Palma is a certifiable classic that's slickly made and hard-nosed as any gangster picture from the golden era of the 1930s.
Bugsy (85%)
Growing tired of his life of crime in New York, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (Warren Beatty) heads to the West Coast to establish a network of gambling rackets.
When opportunity presents itself in the middle of the Nevada desert, Bugsy becomes one of the prime developers of Las Vegas in his search for a lawless gambling haven. Beatty anchors this story of Sin City's origins with natural charisma to burn.
Once Upon A Time In America (86%)
Spaghetti Western maestro Sergio Leone turned his camera's eye on outlaws of a different sort with this epic crime chronicle. Gorgeously made and ultimately quite haunting, Once Upon A Time In America is a masterpiece that makes you wish the director had lived to make more pictures like it.
Donnie Brasco (88%)
FBI agent Joseph Pistone (Johnny Depp) infiltrates of New York City's more influential Mafia families.
Living under the pseudonym "Donnie Brasco," his mission is threatened when he becomes close to hitman Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero (Al Pacino) and discovers that he may have to eliminate his friend. Mike Newell's crime drama offers up both grit and humor in equal measure.
Gomorrah (92%)
This universally lauded crime drama takes a hard look at the Camorra, a fearsome crime organization that rules the suburbs of Naples, Italy.
There's no substitute for the real thing, and Gomorrah captures organized crime in Italy with unflinching realism.
