Just watched The Departed tonight, though I did go see Rocky in the theatre, so I guess I am one of the asses of which you speak.
I'm okay with that though cause I left feeling great and full of hope after Rocky. The Departed left me feeling like humanity is hopeless. And that's okay because they are different types of movies and meant to stir up different emotions. I was just hoping for something different.
That's kinda how I felt. The love connection thing was bogus. I loved the movie up until the last few minutes. Everyone died. Whop dee do.
The movie was good and the acting was great (I have never hated Matt Damon so much). I just felt like everyone was corrupt and nothing was truly resolved. Everyone died ... hooray, movie!