I've said it before and I'll say it again, all this CGI de-aging works to an extent (De Niro, Pesci and Pacino could all pass for a 53 year old in The Irishman at different stages), but until they work out how to make their physical movements less geriatric I'm still unconvinced.

When I first saw The Irishman trailer, I was struck by how frail Al Pacino's body language was, particularly in the courtroom scene.

And I maintain that the scene where De Niro beats up a grocery store clerk was uncomfortable to watch for all the wrong reasons.

There is a trade-off in the sense that this was the last hurrah for Scorsese, De Niro, Pacino, Pesci and Keitel to all work together, and the gravitas they brought made it work, but I'd argue against this becoming a regular thing in the long run.

There is a lot of goodwill and respect towards the director and main players in The Irishman that would count against other features replicating this initiative going forward.

I believe that The Irishman was verging toward, dare I say it, mediocrity, before the final third brought some serious emotional heft - and De Niro and Pesci were acting their age for those parts.