I would echo what many other reviewers have said: it's a wonderful American story, portrayed by some excellent actors at the height of their talents. Sean Connery, for one, is very impressive and believable as an aging, jaded policeman, still walking the beat, who rises to the challenge of bringing down the Chicago Moonshine Mafia. Kevin Costner is also very good as the slightly naive, but pure and steadfast, representative of the US Treasury-though he nearly always comes up just a hair short as a leading man, due to his slightly annoying voice (a characteristic much improved in recent years, thanks to the gravitas of age). Bob De Niro in any role is always a terrific pleasure: nuff said.
What keeps this film from being a truly great period piece is the amazingly bad soundtrack that plagues it from start to finish. I don't know if this musical disaster felt relevant and interesting back in the '90s, but it's very difficult to imagine a decade where Ennio Morricone's schizophrenic, incoherent approach was appealing or understandable to anyone! How unfortunate...
What keeps this film from being a truly great period piece is the amazingly bad soundtrack that plagues it from start to finish. I don't know if this musical disaster felt relevant and interesting back in the '90s, but it's very difficult to imagine a decade where Ennio Morricone's schizophrenic, incoherent approach was appealing or understandable to anyone! How unfortunate...