Yes, that's Johnny Depp in those eerie blue contacts and balding blonde wig. The actor transforms into gangster James "Whitey" Bulger in Black Mass, which follows the crimelord's remarkable rise in South Boston, with a strong supporting cast along for the ride. Here's what critics are saying:
- The movie's actors deliver "very strong, sometimes riveting work," writes Todd McCarthy at the Hollywood Reporter. Joel Edgerton is "outstanding" as FBI agent John Connolly, but it's Depp "who takes control of the proceedings from the outset and never yields it, except for when he disappears for a while in the second half," writes McCarthy. He's "fully convincing and frightening." Overall, it's "one of his best" performances.
- You certainly can't fault the acting, writes Moira Macdonald at the Seattle Times. Benedict Cumberbatch and Dakota Johnson each deliver alongside Depp. But the film "never quite seems to build to a peak," she says. "It's one of those movies that you don't exactly enjoy (so many guns, so many deaths), but you appreciate for its craft and tension, and for its cast's willingness to lose themselves in the darkness."