If you thought Wednesday was going to be your standard middle-of-the-week humpday, then think again - because Martin Scorsese's is finally being released on Netflix today, after its limited cinema run.
If you're not on the hype yet, check out the trailer below and you definitely will be:The American-Italian filmmaker once again teams up with Hollywood legends Robert De Niro and Al Pacino to bring you a modern mob movie that is already tipped 13/2 to take home the Oscar for Best Picture.
The critically and public acclaimed flick is based on Charles Brandt's true-crime bestseller I Heard You Paint Houses, and tells the story of Frank Sheeran, a gangster, hitman, and World War II veteran.
The movie follows Sheeran - portrayed by De Niro - as he becomes involved with some of the most notorious and dangerous people of the 20th century.
The synopsis reads:
"The film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime."
Spanning several decades, Sheeran looks back on his career as a mobster, with a particular focus over the disappearance of former friend and divisive union leader Jimmy Hoffa - who is played by Pacino.
And if the cast and story aren't enough to pull you in, then the movie has to be appreciated for its remarkable state-of-the-art technology. Rather than letting a cast of younger actors play the younger versions of Sheeran and Hoffa, the production team spent millions de-aging De Niro and Pacino - so viewers are once again treated to the two legends in their 30s.
Earlier this year, Scorsese described The Irishman as being completely different from his previous gangster movies, telling The Independent: "This is different, I think it is. I admit that there are - you know, Goodfellas and Casino have a certain style that I created for them - it's on the page in the script, actually.
"Putting Goodfellas together was almost like an afterthought. At times I was kind of rushing, I felt I'd already done it because I'd played it all out in terms of the camera moves and the editing and that sort of thing.
"The style of the picture, the cuts, the freeze-frames, all of this was planned way in advance, but here it's a little different."
And critics have adored the movie, with the Wall Street Journal hailing it as a "haunting masterpiece", and Variety summing up the flick by saying: "Martin Scorsese's The Irishman is a coldly enthralling, long-form knockout — a majestic mob epic with ice in its veins."
The Irishman also stars Joe Pesci, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, and Jesse Plemons.
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