The Untouchables is a 1987 crime drama directed by Brian De Palma about a war between the federal government and Al Capone’s Chicago bootlegging operation. Sean Connery plays Irish detective Jimmy Malone, Kevin Costner plays young agent Eliot Ness, and Robert De Niro plays Capone himself. The film is based on the real-life 1930s campaign to bring down the mobster, and it turns that history into a tight, violent thriller. It holds a score of 7.9 out of 10.
Trailer, via YouTube Movies.
Malone and Ness
Connery’s Jimmy Malone is the veteran who teaches Ness how to fight. He is the one who knows the streets and the code. Costner’s Ness is the fresh-faced agent who wants to make a difference. He is the one who reads the newspapers and carries a notebook. The pairing works because Malone respects Ness’s intelligence while also protecting him from the messier parts of the job.
Malone is the father figure, the man who tells Ness to “forget it” when he tries to take a bullet. Ness is the son, the one who listens and learns. The film spends its early scenes building this bond, showing how Ness comes to trust Malone implicitly. That trust is tested later when Ness has to choose between following orders and following Malone’s instincts.
The Chase Through the Streets
The film’s centerpiece is a chase through the streets of Chicago. Ness and his team follow Capone’s men as they drive a car through a crowded street. The scene is tense, the camera work is fast, and the editing cuts between the cars and the pedestrians caught in the chaos. It is a moment where the film stops being a quiet procedural and becomes a pure action set-piece.
The chase is effective because it is grounded in the earlier character work. Ness has spent the film learning to think like Malone, and here he has to act like him. The scene also shows the cost of the operation. Innocent people get hurt, and Ness has to live with that. The film does not pretend the war is clean.
The Sound of the Gun
De Niro’s Capone is not a cartoon. He is a businessman who runs a criminal enterprise. He is also a man who believes he is above the law. His performance is quiet and controlled, and he lets the menace sit underneath the surface. When he speaks, the words carry weight. When he smiles, the smile is cold.
The film’s final confrontation between Ness and Capone is brief but powerful. Ness faces Capone alone, and the tension is built entirely through the actors’ presence. There is no dialogue needed. The scene is a statement of who won the war, and it ends the film on a note of grim triumph.
The Supporting Cast
The rest of the cast fills out the world around Ness. Charles Martin Smith plays George Stone, the loyal agent who takes a bullet for Ness. Andy Romano plays Mike Dorsey, the agent who gets beaten up. William Forsythe plays Frank Caine, the agent who gets shot. These characters exist to show the danger Ness faces, and they give the film a sense of camaraderie.
The film also includes a scene where Ness visits his wife and daughter, played by Neve Campbell. It is a small scene, but it humanizes Ness. It shows that he is not just a machine for catching criminals. He is a man who misses his family, who worries about them, who loves them. This makes the later violence hit harder.
The Final Word
The Untouchables is a tight, efficient crime thriller. It does not waste time. It gets in, hits hard, and gets out. The performances are strong across the board, and the direction keeps the pace moving. The film is not perfect. Some of the supporting characters are thin, and the middle section drags slightly. But the chase scene and the final confrontation make up for those weaknesses.
The film is also a product of its time. It was made in the 1980s, and it carries some of the excesses of that decade’s action films. The violence is graphic, and the film does not flinch from showing blood and death. For viewers today, this can feel over-the-top. But the film is not trying to be subtle. It is trying to be brutal, and it succeeds.
The film’s score of 7.9 out of 10 reflects that balance. It is a solid, entertaining film that rewards attention but does not demand it. It is worth seeing for Connery’s performance alone, but the whole package holds together.
Key Facts
– Title: The Untouchables
– Director: Brian De Palma
– Lead actors: Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro
– Year: 1987
– Score: 7.9 out of 10
What Works
– The pairing of Malone and Ness
– The chase through the streets
– Capone’s quiet menace
– The family scenes with Ness’s wife and daughter
Where It Falls Short
– Some supporting characters feel thin
– The middle section drags slightly
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