The Many Saints of Newark (2021) User Reviews

A Bit Pointless

[damianphelps · 5/10 · 9 December 2021]

If the Sopranos had relied on this film to launch the tv series, the show would never had been released.

Its an average film, neither offensive to the brain nor exhilarating, but it fails miserably to develop any excitement to the 'coming' of Tony.

If you want to watch a movie about growing up to become a gangster...watch Goodfellas :)

Disappointing

[grantss · 6/10 · 29 January 2022]

It is the late 1960s and Dick Moltisanti is a leading figure in the Newark Mafia. His son, Dickie, takes after him and is rising up through the ranks. Dickie is a father figure to a boy who will ultimately run his own crime family, Tony Soprano.

Set about 30 years before the events of the TV series The Sopranos, this is a prequel to that. I regard The Sopranos as the greatest drama series of all time so my interest was piqued, especially as the tagline labelled it "Who made Tony Soprano". I didn't feel that The Sopranos needed a prequel, but was intrigued nevertheless.

It looks good on paper: written by David Chase, creator and head writer of The Sopranos, directed by Alan Taylor, who directed several episodes of The Sopranos. So you know this has right pedigree and isn't some independent production trying to make use of The Sopranos brand. Throw in a decent cast: Ray Liotta, Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr, Vera Farmiga, John Bernthal and even Michael Gandolfini, the son of James Gandolfini who played Tony Soprano in the series, as the teenaged Tony Soprano.

The film started well enough: the set up was interesting and the characters reasonably engaging. Plot development is initially intriguing but then the cracks begin to show. From a point I kept thinking "there's only one way this is going to end". This was mainly based on the characters appearing in The Sopranos but I think even without that knowledge the signs were there how this was going to turn out.

Another, though more minor, issue is that David Chase seemed overly keen to jam as many characters from the TV series into the movie, just to create that spark of recognition among fans of the TV series.

The ending is predictable (as mentioned above) and very flat. Even if you didn't figure out in advance how things would work out, the conclusion is very anti-climactic and empty. Moreover, the explanation of and link to Tony Soprano's later life and activities is not there, making it quite disappointing.

Considering this, someone who's never watched The Sopranos might find this film more interesting as they won't have an expectation of some profound explanation of Tony Soprano's later career or events in the series and won't be distracted by the insertion of characters from the series just for recognition value. However, even for the uninitiated, at best this is just okay due to the flat ending.

Disappointing

[matt_jacobs1 · 6/10 · 12 October 2021]

I had such high hopes for this movie, but it just fell flat. This isn't a movie about the making of Tony Soprano like the ads and trailers lead you to believe. It's a story about racial tensions in Newark in the 1970's and nothing more. Michael Gandolfini did an awesome job at playing a young Tony, but we only got to see him a handful of times, which was a shame. What the heck was up with the Frank Lucas scene too? Talk about pointless and making no sense!

With a better director and writer, this movie could've been great. Unfortunately it was far from it.

Not the movie fans of the Sopranos wanted

[sdowen-59793 · 6/10 · 15 January 2022]

They made a movie about Dickie Moltisanti. Most Soprano fans couldn't give a damn about Dickie. He's a background character.

Fans wanted a show about Tony Soprano. The movie made Tony a background character. We learned more about Tony's childhood from the original show than we do during this movie.

With the exception of one scene, we don't even know anything about Tony's relationship with his father.

It's puzzling. The original show was all about the complexity of family dynamics. This movie was a B-rate gangster flick sidetracked by a plot about a black gangster during a time in the 60's when there would have been minimal interaction between street gangs & mob bosses.

The fans wanted a Tony Soprano coming of age Story. Instead the producers delivered a 2 hour film with 14 minutes of Tony Soprano flashbacks.

Probably Not Chases's Full Vision

[thompson12001 · 6/10 · 2 October 2021]

This movie was pretty meh. It would've been a lot better if all the time they spent on Harold was deleted and used for scenes with Tony and Dickie as well as actually building up real tension between Junior and Dickie.

There is absolutely no point in Harold's character or adding in Frank Lucas. Seems like some mandates were made by studio executives to add some prominent African American characters. This movie was supposed to be fan service for the show but adding in racial strife and taking away time from mafioso characters in a two hour movie doesn't make sense.

Furthermore there's no way that they're going to let Harold live after the drive-by he pulled, regardless of Dickie. Not a chance in the Sopranos universe.

Major plot points felt forced and rushed: no bonding between Tony and Dickie, no buildup for Josefina sleeping with Harold, no tension between Junior and Dickie to justify a hit, no reason for Dickie to attack another made guy he just ate with.

Lastly Dickie's and Josefina's tragic final day together was way too reminiscent of Noodles and Deborah's ill fated date from Once Upon a Time in America. Come on Mr. Chase, you're better than that.

An offer you could refuse.

[southdavid · 6/10 · 27 September 2021]

I think I'm right in saying that this is another one of the films that is going to open on "HBO Max" in the States, rather than widely at the cinema. Here in the UK, we have had a cinematic release and as a fan of "The Sopranos" I jumped at the chance go. Though I wouldn't go as far as to say I was disappointed, I came away unsure as to the point of what I'd seen.

Richard Moltisanti (Allesandro Nivola) is a gangster, running numbers and trafficking stolen goods in Newark. Initially struggling to conceive a child of his own, he acts like a second father to the son of his friend Johnny Boy Soprano (Jon Bernthal). Young Tony (William Ludwig/Michael Gandolfini) has an unstable homelife and is beginning to act out at school. Dickie Moltisanti has other issues though, such as the rise of black gangs in the neighbourhood following the riots of 1967 and his attraction to his father's young new wife, Giuseppina (Michela De Rossi).

It's not that this is bad. By no means is it bad. The performances are excellent, the impressions of established characters are nicely done, the recreation of the 1960's and 1970's is really well done. It's that I felt like I was watching what should have been at least three seasons of television, with the fast forward button on. It's interesting to see that this is being sold as "The formative years of Tony Soprano" when really that's quite a small part of the overall film, barely even a third of it, I'd say. It's very much the Dickie Moltisanti story, narrated from beyond the grave, by his son. It's his relations that make up the bulk of the story and not just his relationship with Tony, but also with his father played by Ray Liotta, his new step mother, a low level runner called Harold McBrayer, played by Leslie Odom Jr and with the rest of the family - both actual and metaphorical.

There are quite a few different plot points to the film, but all are shallowly dealt with as they only have two hours to play out, rather than thirty. It's like watching a wrap up film for a cancelled TV show where the writers say, "this is where we would have gone". None of the betrayals or murders play that heavy as we don't spend enough time with the characters to get more than a basic feel about who they are.

Again, I don't want to bang on as if what's here isn't good. It is, and I really hope if finally allows Allesandro Nivola to get some meatier roles again, and, on the smaller screen, it might seem more fitting than it does at the Cinema. But I came away wishing I could have the rest of this, rather than just the tiny taster menu that was on offer.

should have just made cleaver instead

[iceman-johnson · 3/10 · 3 October 2021]

All that build up ....all the time they had to fine tune this film and make it a masterpiece. What the hell happened ?

Was it the terrible cheap cgi backgrounds ,cigarette smoke and fire ?

Was it the bad acting?

Was the writing ?

Was it the plot ?

Or was it all of the above?

I was expecting a riveting story about a serious gangster battling a drug problem taking his nephew under his wing and showing him the ropes and schooling him on how the mob life really is. Giving him tips on how to be a real leader of men and showing him tricks of the trade and how to outsmart his rivals in the dark underworld of the mob in the race torn streets of newark.

What did we get: a guy with the personality of a potato doing a jimmy the gent impression kills his own dad then starts sleeping with his stepmom, begins to school his nephew in the art of cheek pulling and head rubbing and calling him a gagootz and sealing it with a pinky promise. After a few years of this he gives tony some speakers he's stolen then completely cuts him off after taking advice from a guy in prison who he hardly knows .....all the while has a falling out with a man who used to work for him because this man killed one of his guys trying to get his own gang going and in the end he's taken out for laughing at a throwback gag that was added to story to please the sopranos fans that was honestly funnier in the tv show....im being serious....

In the tv series dickie moltisanti was referred to as a straight up OG but he was also known for being a degenerate junkie but in this film he is neither. They make out at the end that he's known for being a junkie because he had antidepressants/antipsychotics in his pockets when they found him dead. Tony had asked dickie to get the drugs to give to livia to stop her being all mean and salty but he never made it so now people assume the pills were his ....oh please.. the guy was supposed to be a gangster, just because they found him with drugs on him didn't make him a junkie,he could have been selling them for all they knew. Its not mentioned once in any of this that anyone thinks he is a junkie or has an addictive personality to anything . I can't even remember him drinking in this tbh. But in the tv series its mentioned a few times that he was a drinker and degenerate drug user and had addiction problems. They really hit a low trying to rewrite him as some sort misunderstood loveable rogue. I was hoping to see a real mean and ruthless mobster unhinged by his drug abuse but he just comes across as a normal wise guy who doesn't really do anything.

I hated the nods to the tv show, i'm not talking about the story but the little nods like quotes and such ...uncle june in this is just embarrassing and he's made out to be stupid and a bit thick.they even have him quoting famous quotes from the tv series thinking they are doing the fans justice but it just came across as stupid. A one off quote as a nod, yeah, but pretty much all that came out of this guys mouth was lines from the tv show. It was like something out of a terrible comedy sketch. Also in the series uncle june was only the way he was due to being old and eventually getting alzheimer's. It was said in the tv show he was a man to be feared in his day and was sharp as an arrow in this he's a bumbling idiot who nobody respects. Also in this he reminds me more of eddie hitler from the tv show "bottom" more the uncle junior

the nattration at the beginning is cheesy and not needed. Why is chris moltisanti narrating his dad's story? Is it because he's dead he now knows everything ?shouldn't it be dickie narrating his life story now he's dead ? Or is this movie just chris's version of his dad's story who makes his dad out to be a great guy who was misunderstood and tony out to be a complete monster ?

There's really no need for him to be in this other than they can attach michael imperioli's name to the film. All he does as a narrator is complain how tony is going to choke him to death later on and how tony only gave his widow his pocket change and then called him soft for moving to the the burbs. The more i think about it now it really does just seem we are being told a story by a bitter ghost whos just making it up as he goes along , i mean, the film starts off in a graveyard showing his grave so this might be the case. Hopefully it is and the real sopranos movie will come out soon and this will have been a red herring or something.

We should have had paulie (Tony Sirico )as narrator if they insisted on having one. Would have been far more entertaining listening to him talk about his Ma and prostate problems than most of the crummy dialogue in this.

Over all the movie is pretty bad, it's boring, nothing really eventful happens that we haven't seen before a million times ,ray liotta plays ray liotta, then plays a calm ray liotta in prison. The guy who plays sil does a great impression of a guy with no acting skills pretending to be sil. The only saving grace in the film were the actual sopranos family. Jon Bernthal who plays johnny boy absolutely nails it. You really do feel uneasy when he's on screen and he actually came across as a believable gangster with a temper. Vera Farmiga is also great in this film and did an amazing job playing livia. And i gotta give Michael Gandolfini his due i think he did a great job playing his dad he does look out of place in some scenes but really shined in this movie the the phone box part where he lost his temper you can definitely see his dads eyes in that scene . I did think he was completely underused but so were most of the characters i wanted to see.

Hardcore soprano fans might wanna give this a miss, its over hyped and the magic that's in the original tv show isn't here , the fanservice they shove into it feels forced and not funny or clever. There's a part where baby chris cries whenever he goes near young tony and it would have been quite clever if it would have been kept short, could have seen if it was noticed by viewers, kinda a is it isnt it moment but it goes on for way to long and young tony even states it that he cries EVERYTIME he goes near him then some random old women who we never see again pipes up and explains it could be because babies remember stuff from the spiritual world before they are born so i guess baby chris saw tony killing him 30 odd years into the future before he was born.and was scared of him ???....riggggght.

The subtle nods in the tv show that made you think outside the box or that get fans talking, taking guesses on what it might mean are not here, you are spoon fed them instead like you are slow and wouldn't get them

Quite disappointing after waiting all them years but hollywood is trying to relate to everybody instead of a movies intended audience. This could have been an amazing film if they stuck strictly to story and had time to thrash it all out properly but just like the rest of the films they brought out these last few years they have to cram some civil rights message into it or political statement. The days of making films for entertainment purposes seem to be over. It's either that or david chase has lost his touch after years of people praising him and he believes no matter what he puts on screen it will be loved..... I honestly wish they never bothered now, some things should just be left alone. The sopranos was one of them.

Essentially fan service that ultimately is a mediocre narrative mess

[random-70778 · 23 September 2021]

Really? All that talent and money, and yet overall this is a meandering narrative mess that doesn't know what story it wants to tell. It is more or less a hodgepodge of cameos by younger versions of the TV series characters superimposed over a laughably shallow and revisionist narrative on the riots that destroyed Newark NJ.

The closest analogy I can give is the shockingly bad "Deadwood: The Movie" which was an insult to everyone who enjoyed the Deadwood series. It makes me profoundly grateful that no "movie" was made following "Rome" or Boardwalk Empire."

Thoroughly enjoyed it but recommend rewatching episodes 'Down Neck', and 'For All Debts Public and Private' beforehand

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 23 September 2021]

'The Many Saints of Newark' (for me) is an excellent piece of Sopranos fan service with strong character moments and some quite memorable scenes.

The plot is reasonably good as it covers a lot of ground in the lives of Dickie Moltisanti, Harold McBrayer, Giuseppina Bruno, the young Tony Soprano, Johnny Soprano Junior Soprano and Livia. The narrative is quite loose as it focuses key parts of Dickie's life, some influential moments on Tony's, plus the racial tensions of the time. There is enough material to cover several episodes of a series and putting it all into one movie feels like I've only had a glimpse of several larger stories.

I think it is important to have watched the series beforehand to have a full appreciation for everything. Episodes like the ones mentioned above, plus 'Kennedy and Heidi' from the final series were essential for my own enjoyment.

There is a lot of strong character focus, particularly with the influence certain relationships and events have on future events depicted in the series. Most actors have the parts previously played by other actors nailed. I particularly enjoyed the performances of Vera Famiga and Corey Stoll as Livia and Junior.

All the cast are superb and Alessandro Nivola leads it well. The presence of Michael Gandolfini does give it that extra edge of plausibility that you are actually seeing a young Tony because of that resemblance.

I found it quite reminiscent of Scorsese movies. The use of a voiceover narrator for one (the identity of whom is brilliant), plus the character of Dickie reminded me a bit of Charlie from Mean Streets with his explicitly stated desire to do some good things whilst living a life of crime.

As a lead character Dickie is written similarly to Tony as a complex individual finding his way through a brutal world. He is aware of right and wrong which is a source of conflict addressed in multiple scenes of dialogue much like The Sopranos.

Visually it is very strong as it tells a story with great cinematography and editing. The opening and ending are absolutely fantastic. The music, narration, and imagery combine perfectly. There are also some incredibly well crafted moments of violence that stick with you long after.

My favourite scenes are the ones that involve the family together, such as the dinner table sequence with Christopher as a baby and Johnny's homecoming. I also love every scene that involves Livia.

Not everything works for me. There are one or two key moments I personally find a bit contrived to push the plot in a certain direction. I won't spoil, but they involve a situation that eventually provokes violence from a character. They are not badly made in any way, just for me a bit out of left field.

I'll be honest and admit to being a biased fan of the show and find it tough to rate. As a stand-alone-alone movie it is solid. As an episode of the Sopranos franchise I think it is a very strong addition. The marketing of the movie as prequel about a young Tony hurts it.

I hope David Chase writes and produces another movie because he has wet the appetite with a glimpse of the characters at this stage of life, but not really given enough to fully satisfy. I guess a lot may come down to the financial success of this movie.

Underwhelming, but the acting is fantastic

[bluesparkles-59317 · 6/10 · 22 September 2021]

Jon Bernthal said this film isn't like the Sopranos, and I can see what he means. I walked in thinking this would focus on Tony Sopranos' route to becoming who he is when we meet him in the first episode of the Sopranos, but instead, it focuses on Christopher's dad, Dickie Moltisanti.

The acting is superb, but the plot is thin. Dickie is not a particularly interesting character. In fact, I think focusing on Johnny Soprano would've made for a way more gripping film. What we end up with is something half-baked, more of a mini series than a stand-alone film. I have to admit, when the credits started coming up, I was thinking, "Is this it?"

For a Sopranos fan, it's worth a watch, but ultimately, it was underwhelming.

Why? What? How?

[bangotti · 4/10 · 1 October 2021]

Why was half the film about racial tensions and a black gangster? What was this huge inspiration Dickie gave to Tony? How is this co written by the creator of the Sopranos?

If this movie had nothing to do with the Sopranos it would be mediocre with an overly abrupt ending. Compared to a similar movie like A Bronx tale it has no soul.

But as a prequel to the Sopranos it is badly written, paced, and at times boring.

Some of the performances were good, and you can tell the actors really tried their best to portray their older counterpart. But ultimately most come off as caricatures (especially Silvio). Michael Gandolfini is just too young an actor to pull off Tony, but he does try.

The black characters subplot was completely unnecessary, only really planting a seed where someone does something unbelievably stupid at a beach (you'll see what I mean). Where does he fit in the Sopranos tale? What the hell is Frank Lucas doing here? Did I just watch beat poetry in a Sopranos movie?

I admit I haven't seen the show in a few years, but have watched it several times start to finish. This is beyond subpar by comparison.

What happened David Chase? Did you lose a bet with the HBO execs?

"The guy I went to hell for!"

[wuapktjphq · 10/10 · 22 September 2021]

I am a die hard Sopranos fan. Watched the series about 7-8 times. One of the best TV series of all time and without any doubt my favourite. You have to watch the series to truly understand the meaning of it. For example, every scene took me back to the series.

If you didn't have a special feeling when Christopher (Michael Imperioli) spoke, then for you it might be a simple and normal movie. Not for me and not for The Sopranos fans.

The scenes, the acting, the sound effects, the writing, and the directing were a total masterpiece. Everything is moulding perfectly with the universe they have created and they have only left me wanting for more. If you are reading this I hope you appreciate what you are about to see or already saw.

Also, never thought Junior had it in him.

Disappointment, and a let down.

[mm-39 · 6/10 · 4 October 2021]

I like the Sopranos and T M S o N is a disappoint, and a let down. I liberally give a 6 because I liked young Tony, and a few characters actors. Tony had no healthy parental influence made for the making of Tony S story line. Tony and the family part of the movie I gave a 8. There is few dysfunctional family moments, and bad characters which resonates with the past series. Regrettable, many characters and story lines had nothing to do with the Sopranos, or the mob. I don't know if the makers tried to be woke, artistic, or just preachy! Bad enough movie one guy left. Disjointed, badly written, another silly woke movie just using the Soprano name. So silly half the film had nothing to with the story. I thought parts of the film are just random. More like a film about a messed up Dickie character , which gets boring. Random, crazy which I thought would turn into a story, but no. 6 stars should be 4 but I am sentimental for the series.

Cleaver was better

[prettyplainjo · 1/10 · 6 October 2021]

This could have been written by Christopher Moltisanti. Enough said.

Hard to believe David Chase had anything to do with this mediocrity

[sumtim3s00n · 2 October 2021]

This coming from a huge Sopranos fan who as many people, been looking forward to this movie with great anticipation. Afterall mr. Chase being involved ought to almost guarantee quality.

However, then you start reading about some delays and production trouble, then Chase was not directing it, was not directly writing the script, and so on and so forth... Just one after another misteps from the studio.

So we got what we get in 90% nowadays. Average, check-patronizing-woke boxes flick, shallow characters (that are basically skimmed through), incoherent jumping story and many pretentious moments trying to be more than they are.

Nothing like the Sopranos, where every moment was more than what it appeared at first, where characters were all interesting and multilayered and each episode was an intriguing story, 10 or 20 times what this movie is.

A huge disappointment, not even close to the quality of Sopranos. Half of the movie is as is usual today forced political patronizing and blaming white people for everything, which is the last thing I expected from a Chase "product", that he would sell out like this to please others. Also in general it is a bad mob flick with too much jumping and no focus.

I dont know if Chase was forced into a position with no say or he sold out but unless told, I would never belive a person who created Sopranos could also be involved with this travesty of a movie.

It could have been so much more

[Kingslaay · 6/10 · 10 April 2023]

I think many fans of The Sopranos must have been besides themselves when they learnt about this film. Sadly it does not hit quite hit the mark. You have a great cast and setting but not a strong plot for them to work with. This film could have been a rich and rare opportunity to show the early days of the family and how some key figures got their start. We heard of stories of Johnny Soprano, Livia and some of Tony's antics from the show and this could have been an opportunity to flesh these out. We could have seen how the past leads to future events. Instead we get a weak B grade film and storyline and a pointless rivalry with Harold McBrayer no one asked for. A young Tony Soprano is underused, we could have seen more antics from him and moments where he bonded with his father and Uncle Dickie. We do not get to see much of this. Why did they not show us how he tried to make it in the family or how he and Jackie hijacked a local game that made them famous?

I feel the elements were there to make this film a success but the storyline and direction let it down.

Lately im getting the feeling I came in at the end, the best is over.

[ramirez_aj · 6/10 · 29 January 2022]

I was born too late to be apart of the Sopranos original airing. However decades later, I have found myself owner of the Series Boxed Set and literature surrounding the Soprano's universe. It has been almost 7 months since my intial viewing of The Many Saint of Newark and Im just able to write a review from the sheer dissapointment.

Tony explains to Melfi in Season 6 that he is to Christopher, what Christopher's dad (Dickie) was to Tony. However this film shows a completely different approach, especially considering Dickies fate comes before we even get a glimpse into tonys criminal career. You'll reach the end credits still expecting another 20 mins of film. Thats how unsatisfied you are left. Classic bait and switch, this ISNT a story about Tony.

Also Paulie and Silvio, oof Maronè, why are they like 5 years older than Tony.

Anyways, my estimation of David Chase as a writer just fu@#ing plummeted.

Sopranos prequel hits and misses the mark

[paul-allaer · 6/10 · 2 October 2021]

"The Many Saints of Newark" (2021 release; 120 min.) brings the story of Dickie Moltisanti and his cohorts. As the movie opens, the voice-over reminds us that it's "1966", and Dickie and his nephew Tony Soprano are welcoming Dickie's dad and his new young bride from Italy at the dock in New York. Pretty soon thereafter the Moltisanti ("many saints") family are scheming up more ways to generate revenue. Then one evening, racial tensions boil over after a black cabdriver is assaulted by two white police men... At this point we are 10 min into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the long-awaited prequel to the long-running HBO TV series "The Sopranos", which last aired in 2007, yes almost a decade and a half ago, but that hasn't diminished the allure of the series, on the contrary. "The Sopranos" creator David Chase dreams up a prequel in which we get to watch teenage Tony Soprano (played by Michael Gandolfini, son of James), admiring his uncle Dickie Moltisanti as Dickie goes about his business. To be clear: the movie is NOT a young Tony Soprano movie, but instead centers around the Moltisanti family. At times it feels like the movie is lacking an overall arch or theme, as we don't understand what really is driving the story. But at times the movie is also very much on point, just watch the racial tension and riots that took place in Newark in 1967 yet feel as though they could've happened (and in fact did) just last year. The cast is quite good. It is uncanny how much Michael Gandolfini looks like his dad. Ray Liotta looks creepy playing 2 roles (twin brothers, including Dickie's dad). Newcomer Michela De Rossi (as the new bride from Italy) is stunningly beautiful. The production set is exquisite. And yet, when you all sum it up, the movie feels quite uneven, sometimes hitting the mark, sometimes missing the mark. As if all of the pieces together don't quite add up to the total. Is "The Many Saints of Newark" a 'bad' movie? Of course not. Is it as good as "The Sopranos"? Certainly not.

"The Many Saints of Newark" was scheduled to be released in theaters in September, 2020. Then a little thing called COVID-19 had different ideas. Now a year later, the film was finally released in theaters this weekend, while also being streamed on HBO Max, where I caught it. If you loved "The Sopranos" (and who doesn't?), this movie is a must-see, but be prepared for a slight letdown as it is NOT at the same level as "The Sopranos". But hey, don't take my word for it. I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on HBO Max, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion. (Early internet buzz is that a sequel to "The Many Saints of Newark" is all but a certain thing.)

Such a waste!!!!

[kep0187 · 3/10 · 5 October 2021]

David Chase!! Seriously mate, clearly should have been a mini series so you had the time to tell the narrative properly, rather than cram a load of ideas into 2 hours of a jumbled mess. Shame, but still a massive fan of the original series.

Wait is over

[disapointed · 10/10 · 23 September 2021]

14 years since i was waiting for this to happen and it didn't disappoint. Worth watching if you love sopranos.

This Sopranos Prequel goes 21st Century. Yawn.

[rochfordsimon · 6/10 · 16 October 2021]

Was looking forward to this movie. Well acted and put together. The tie in's and Easter eggs, from the tv show, were really cool. But that was it.

Another film ruined by modern day social issues.

David Chase should have trusted his instinct

[Groverdox · 4/10 · 15 October 2021]

Remember when "The Sopranos" took the television show to new narrative heights? Remember when each new episode was more anxiously awaited than any new movie? Remember when you wished more movies could be told as TV series or miniseries on HBO or Showtime, so that they could go into more detail, and take their time developing?

It is ironic that the show that surpassed film would then go back to that form, and all the more ironic that the resultant film doesn't hold a candle to the TV show. We hung on every moment of "Sopranos". People watch and re-watch scenes noticing tell-tale placement of actors in similar positions to where the actors were in prior scenes. They go over dialogue, building profiles of characters who never even appear on the show, but we get to know them better than most on-screen characters in other shows.

The legendary Dickie Moltisanti was oft mentioned on the show, and here we finally get to see him, played by one of the few Italian-American actors who isn't famous for mob roles, Alessandro Nivola. For such a revered figure, he turns out to be a dead end, not emerging with any discernible personality. That should be okay though, because of course this movie shows us younger versions of characters we all know and oddly love, such as Silvio Dante, Paulie Walnuts, Uncle Junior. Except - wait a minute. None of them say or do anything interesting here. The guy who plays Silvio particularly just seems to be trying as hard as he can to ape Steve Van Zandt. You can never take him seriously as the character. And how is Billy Magnussen's Paulie Walnuts so boring? He stole every scene on "The Sopranos". Here he does nothing.

"The Sopranos". So many great lines. So many great scenes. You can watch YouTubes of them for hours without getting bored. "The Many Saints of Newark" barely captured my interest at all. David Chase has gone on record saying that he had his doubts about whether a film based on his classic television series would have worked. He should have trusted this instinct.

Welcome to the club

[lorna-adair-133-801166 · 10/10 · 22 September 2021]

I love The Sopranos so was looking forward to seeing it, and I wasn't disappointed.

The acting is award worthy, heck the whole film is.

The story dragged you in so much that when it finished it was like is that it. Even after two hours.

It is open open for another film which personally would love . Well done to all.

Whatcha gonna do

[braculj · 6/10 · 23 October 2021]

I have expected so much out of this long awaited Sopranos prequel movie but for some strange, strange reason they never say gabagool once in the while movie. Literally unwatchable. 1/10.

Garbage

[cjtriv · 1/10 · 4 October 2021]

Why are movies turning to garbage? How does a classic series turn into political commentary. Very misleading from what was advertised.