Depp Gets 'Mojo Back' In New Mafia Boss Film

Fans are hoping Johnny Depp has returned to his acting best after the release of the trailer of Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass.

Critics have widely welcomed the trailer to the film which sees Depp play the former mafia boss.

It also promises an acting stand-off between the US star and one of the UK's most successful men of the moment Benedict Cumberbatch.

Cumberbatch plays William 'Billy' Bulger, Whitey's brother who was also a Democratic Party state senator for Massachusetts.

Dakota Johnson plays his girlfriend Lindsey Cyr, with whom he has a son who later died.

Executive editor of Movies Jim Vejvoda wrote on Twitter: "Black Mass looks creepy good. Depp's got his mojo back."

Editor of slashfilm.com Peter Scireeta said: "Black Mass promises a scary interesting performance by Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger. Trailer is like a Goodfellas scene."

The film tells the story of how Whitey Bulger became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf in the ganglands of south Boston.

Former Irish-American crime boss Bulger has been serving life imprisonment following his conviction in 2013 for 11 murders and 20 other crimes in the 1970s and 80s.

The 85-year-old has appealed against conviction but has so far been unsuccessful.

The film is scripted by Briton Jez Butterworth and Dick Lehr, who wrote the book on which it is based, and directed by Scott Cooper, who made Crazy Heart.

The film's release date is scheduled for 25 September.