MARTIN Scorsese returns to the mean streets for Gangs of New York (18), a 19th century tale of gang warfare and doomed love, inspired by Herbert Asbury's book of the same name.

The film is an epic undertaking, and with a budget estimated in excess of £100 million, the film is the director's grandest and riskiest project to date. Despite critical success and numerous awards, Scorsese's films rarely set the box office alight commercially, and regrettably Gangs Of New York will not recoup its money. Not by a long shot.

If the director was hoping to make this year's Titanic, replete with Leonardo Di Caprio as the romantic hero, then he fails. Scorsese doesn't need an iceberg, the screenwriters sink the film with weak characterisation and a sprawling narrative.

The Dead Rabbits and the Nativists are two gangs who rule the poorest neighbourhoods of Big Apple with an iron fist. Rivalry between the two camps is fierce, and their skirmishes are increasingly bloody.

Following the death of his father Liam Neeson at the hands of Nativist leader Daniel Day-Lewis, Di Caprio vows revenge.

Many years later, after the Dead Rabbits have been disbanded, Di Caprio returns to his home of the Five Points. Using a new identity, he infiltrates Day-Lewis's inner circle, winning the notorious leader's trust and respect.

But Di Caprio's plan comes undone when he falls in love with pickpocket Cameron Diaz, whose past draws her to Amsterdam's sworn enemy.

Gangs Of New York is technically astounding, from Scorsese's masterful direction of the battle scenes to Thelma Schoonmaker's hyperkinetic editing.

The film also looks amazing, with the combined efforts of master setbuilders and special effects artists recreating New York in its grimy entirety.

For all of its technical brio, the film lacks emotional heart. It's difficult to feel empathy for Di Caprio because the character is poorly sketched and his accent wanders from Boston to Tipperary and back again. Diaz is equally unappealing and there's no spark of sexual chemistry, even in the love scenes hastily reshot by Scorsese.

However, Day-Lewis delivers a tour-de-force portrayal of evil that marks him as a front runner for the Oscars.