The Untouchables (1987)

Eliot Ness has the personality of a freshly pressed shirt, and Kevin Costner plays him exactly that way. He’s the hero of The Untouchables and the least interesting man in every room he walks into. Luckily, those rooms are full of ringers. Sean Connery’s Malone is a tired beat cop who has watched the city rot for years, and the movie quietly becomes his. Robert De Niro plays Capone as a grinning showman who loves the opera a little too much. Andy Garcia’s rookie sharpshooter is pure cool, and Charles Martin Smith’s accountant is the funniest guy on the team. Brian De Palma stages a horseback raid at the Canadian border like an old western, then a slow-motion standoff on a train station staircase that’s pure, sweaty tension. Ennio Morricone’s score swings between gorgeous and goofy. An 8.1 because the cast and the set pieces cover for a hero carved out of wood. $341 says you hear that Morricone theme once and start walking like there’s a Treasury badge in your pocket.

What works: Sean Connery’s weary beat cop, De Niro’s showboating Capone, and a train station staircase sequence that’s pure tension.

What doesn’t: Kevin Costner’s Ness is so stiff and saintly that the lead is the dullest character in the movie, and the score sometimes tips into corny.

Who it’s for: Anyone who likes old-school gangster movies with clear good guys, big villains and one perfect set piece.