Strong material, solid stars and Martin Scorsese make "The Departed" a magnificent thriller, despite its flaws. Renowned for stunning films based on true events like "Casino", "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas", Scorsese has lost his way elsewhere with flops like "Gangs of New York".

Even his "Aviator", a good effort with "Departed" star Leonardo DiCaprio, fell short of mustering resounding support at the box office. "The Departed", though, should do better judging from the favourable reviews it has received so far.

The plot centres on two characters: a man who joins the police force to spy on gangsters played by Matt Damon; and an undercover cop sent to break a ruthless crime ring played by DiCaprio.

The acting is strong - all the members of the cast, including Ray Winstone ("Mr French"), Martin Sheen and Vera Farmiga as a psychiatrist deserve award nominations.

Overall, the movie is an impressive feat, especially considering it's actually an adaptation of a Hong Kong movie called "Infernal Affairs" made some years ago. The original scriptwriter, Siu Fai Mak, has lent his name to the revised script written by William Monahan, who has transported the bloody saga to Boston.

Despite the challenges, Scorsese manages to weave an intricate plot and churn out a two-and-half-hour action-packed movie with gusto and conviction, nailing viewers to their seats.

This time, instead of focusing on the Italian-American community as he did in films like "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas", Scorsese turns his attention to the Irish-Americans.

The dialogue is so good that to really enjoy the film, viewers will need to possess a fair command of English. It can't but suffer if translated into another language, especially the scenes where a rabid Mark Wahlberg tears into new police cadets.

Even stronger is Jack Nicholson's marvellous portrayal of an unsavoury gang chief. Be warned that the Thai release has cut some sequences and as a result the film runs much shorter than the original 152 minutes.

Local censors don't have a reputation for competence, so this hardly comes as a surprise.

However, censorship in a different area has given cinemagoers some relief: Authorities have banned the beer ads. Nobody is going to miss the assault on the senses of the noisy machine-gun sequence, terrible songs and other sponsored items.

Of course, Hanuman, a teetotaller, is somewhat tickled by all of this. Civil liberties and personal freedoms have been compromised here, but the local press, usually so critical about being muzzled, have consented to this ruling.

Theatres may be less annoying today without alcohol advertising, but no one has bothered to question whether we are we paying too high a price? The road to ruin is usually paved with wonderful intentions and the current anti-alcohol crusade will undoubtedly inspire a new wave of zealots.

At best, it will comfort fundamentalist countries that they aren't alone in allowing puritanical policies to thrive. At worst, it's a great excuse for parents to pass the buck, blaming everyone but themselves for raising kids who don't know when not to get drunk, even when they are 25.

hanuman