Taxi Driver (1976) review

(9/10)

I had been putting off seeing this one for the longest time for absolutely no reason. Now, I'm glad I saw it and wondering why I put it off so long. It's a hard-hitting, smooth, and truthful film on the dark streets of the world.

PLOT:Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) has just gotten a job as a taxi driver in the streets of New York. He's smooth, quiet, and hates most of the rabble of the streets. However, he meets a beautiful blonde working in office named Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) and falls in love. It doesn't last long, though, until he makes a big mistake and scares her way. No matter how much he tries to re-kindle things with her, she always turns him away, which forces him to snap. He then comes up with an idea to kill the candidate in office this girl is working for. Meanwhile, he's trying to help a 12-year-old prostitute named Iris (Jodie Foster) escape from her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel), and go back to her parents. It's a good plot executed greatly.



ACTING:The acting in here was very great. Robert De Niro did an excellent job of playing our lead, Travis Bickle. I think it was a very memorable performance, Another performance worthy of note is the young Jodie Foster as 12-year-old hooker, Iris. Even at this young age, she was a very talented actress. The other shiners would be Harvey Keitel as Sport, Cybill Shepherd as Betsy, Peter Boyle as Wizard and Martin Scorsese himself in a cameo as the weird, vengeful passenger.

SCORE:The score in here is very smooth and smoky sounding, like a crime mystery in a bar. It fits the mood of the film very well.

EFFECTS:The blood in here flows pretty freely for an action flick. There are a lot of kills, and blood to accompany. The blood effects in here look pretty realistic and detailed as gunshots are fired and knifes are used.



OTHER CONTENT:This film is a very interesting look at the decline of society today. The exaggerated realism of it all shocks you and puts the urban world into what I believe to be its place. The performances lead the plot through with great direction by the beloved Martin Scorsese. However, this film had a plot issue for me. Though the plot was very well thought-out, it wasn't completely solid. You couldn't sit down and tell me the plot without telling me all the twists in it first, like Dazed and Confused. It makes the film open to suprises, but a little complicated to follow for some.

OVERALL,an awesome film with a good plot, very great performances, smooth score, realistic blood effects, shocking realism, and great direction, but the plot wasn't completely solid