After the box office juggernaut of Goodfellas, which propelled mob movies into the mainstream, Martin Scorsese had a lot to live up to with Casino. The 1995 film was his most ambitious yet, a sprawling epic that explores the rise and fall of mafia power in Sin City. It also serves as a cautionary tale about gambling addiction and the dangers of greed. The movie features a stellar cast led by Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone.
It’s a tense, gritty drama that lays bare the seedier side of Vegas, which was then still a city built on vice. Unlike other Vegas movies of the time, such as Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls and Paul Greengrass’s Casino Royale, this one doesn’t just slap on some neon signs and opulent interiors. Casino digs into the history of Las Vegas, revealing its past ties with organized crime while also showing how big casinos took over the city.
The film centers around Sam “Ace” Rothstein (De Niro), a casino executive with connections to the mob who runs the Tangiers, a fictional casino controlled by the syndicate. The movie reveals how the mafia lost control of a city that was minting billions in revenue each year. It also explains how gambling corporations grew into multinational empires that are more powerful than the mafia itself.
Scorsese’s films are known for examining the human cost of moral compromise, and Casino is no exception. The film follows a series of characters that each make poor choices, some of which prove fatal. The relationships between these people are complicated and often unfathomable, but they’re always believable. The script is filled with memorable lines and witty repartee. In particular, the scenes between De Niro and Joe Pesci are some of the most entertaining in the film.
Whether it’s an ill-fated poker game or a botched heist, the movie is packed with dramatic tension and nail-biting suspense. The acting is top-notch, with Stone in particular shining. She’s the film’s linchpin, balancing out the darker sides of her character with her sexy allure. She’s a smart hustler with an almost inhuman ability to hold the audience’s attention.
Casino is a fascinating and complex film that’s worth checking out. It’s not as engrossing as Goodfellas, but it’s still a compelling story about the nature of criminal behavior. It also shows how some characters rise to the top before eventually falling. The film’s message is clear–no one stays on top forever. This theme is echoed in other Scorsese films, including The Wolf of Wall Street and Raging Bull.