I had not thought I was the only one collecting tokens, but I also had not thought there would be so many. Already at 7 there was a queue for tickets at the cinema. The assistants, I could tell, were tired from serving people with Evening Standard vouchers. Perhaps it was my choice of venue - Leicester Square - but the place was almost sold out. This was a Monday night, and it was a film - The Departed - that had been out for several weeks. Incredible. However, it had to be done. I wanted to see that film and I thought, if anything, it was a great opportunity to see it in the biggest screen in the country.
As for the quality of the movie itself: extremely good. The script was far better than the original, the acting also. A lot was added which worked well, including Mark Wahlberg's character and various other things that would ruin the plot for you. However, the greatest loss was the pacing of the original. Scorsese, I felt, overplayed some parts, and underplayed others, stretched some for too long and cut some short. As such, people around me got restless at various points. Nonetheless, at other points the whole cinema (remember, the largest, and sold-out) went completely silent, and gasped, and laughed, and sighed in unison.
