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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Good, but not varsity athlete good.

[aaraanb-16534 · 6/10 · 1 October 2021]

The Many Saints of Newark was one of my most anticipated films of 2021 being that I finished the Sopranos for the first time this year.

The Good: Production quality and acting was great for the most part. The 60s and 70s era looked amazing in this film. Every actor in this film did fantastic. Alessandro Nivola was captivating as Dickie Moltisanti and Michael Gandolfini did amazing as a young Tony Soprano. James Gandolfini; may he Rest In Peace, would be proud of Michael.

The Bad: Story was very underwhelming. The Newark riots and race tensions sub plot was not good at all. Ending left me feeling underwhelmed.

This movie would've definitely benefited from a longer runtime, and I want more of this. There has been talks of a sequel which I am all for. Heck this would even be better if they made a mini-series.

In the end, good but not varsity athlete quality.

Disappointing

[jdgator1000 · 6/10 · 3 October 2021]

Who the hell is Harold and why did we have to see so much about him? WTF.

Fool me once, shame on you

[infoimdb-35156 · 1/10 · 7 October 2021]

Fool me twice, shame on me.

I don't need to watch this movie to know what will happen: use known brand/franchise to bring the crowds. Sideline the problematic main character, inject new character who meets modern requirements.

Seriously, we need to stop watching all these "prequels" and force Hollywood to try and come up with something new.

The beginnings of a Soprano

[conn-57441 · 8/10 · 22 September 2021]

Let me start off this review by saying I'm a big fan of The Sopranos, it is easily one of my most rewatched shows of all time!

So when I first heard they were making a prequel I was a little skeptical. Even with David Chase on board I was nervous that this film could potentially tarnish the series legacy.

However once the first trailer dropped, seeing Dickie Moltisanti running his crew, Micheal Gandolfini stepping into his fathers shoes and hearing that iconic theme song all my fears disappeared!

Once I see the actual film though it was not entirely what I expected, and that is not necessarily a good or bad point.

Let me start off with some of things I loved; The casting in this film is outstanding, not only do all the actors manage to capture the younger versions of themselves so well, they convey everything down to their mannerisms with ease ( Young Tony being expertly played by James' son Micheal is a real emotional highlight).

This film also contains much of the witty dialogue and dark humour the show was known for, this especially being the case whenever we see the young Silvio, Paulie and Pussy.

Finally if you are a sopranos fan, there is plenty of references to enjoy and a few secrets revealed that will most definitely surprise. The film also gives more insight into why characters are the way they are in the show, and just put a massive smile seeing these characters we know so well given more backstory.

This is where I start going into the possible negatives of the film however; I do feel that if you are not a soprano fan / or never seen the show, you will not get as much out of this as a fan would. It is a good crime / gangster film, but most definitely made better if you know of the characters and history prior.

My other main 'complaint' is the pacing / length of the film. At times certain story beats feel quite rushed especially after an extended first act laying the foundation for the rest of the film. To be honest I just wanted more, especially by the time the credits roll ( which I suppose isn't a bad thing).

It must of been quite hard by David Chase to adapt from a 13 hour season to a two hour movie, however both he and Alan Taylor have done a great job with the runtime.

All in all I really enjoyed The Many Saints of Newark, if anything I just want to see more of this era in the Sopranos universe, which in turn completely squashed my worries from the beginning!

Here's hoping this isn't the end of Tony's Saga!

Great performances but nothing special.

[cruise01 · 6/10 · 19 October 2021]

3 out of 5 stars.

Great performances. Thin and forgettable script and plot makes this prequel to Sopranos okay. It is an interesting premise of showing Tony Sopranos uncle and his teen years.

It doesn't work as a Sopranos story and it doesn't work as a mafia movie.

[EShy · 4/10 · 1 October 2021]

There's no mafia story in this movie and the plot is very weak, focusing on irrelevant characters for too long but failling to create any connection to these characters.

We have a bunch of mafia guys with no actual enemies. A mistress we don't really care about, since the lead character doesn't seem to really. A "business associate" turned rival that only Dickie really interacts with and in the end doesn't seem relevant to anything.

The Sopranos connection is weak at best, except for the Junior stuff, but even that is fan service done poorly. Here's that line from the show "wink wink".

We do get to find out what happened to Dickie, but that would've meant more if it turned out Tony knew when he sent Christopher after his dad's killer in the show.

Having Tony Soprano as a teenager wandering through the movie here and there but not really being a part of him was a waste.

Prequels are hard, unless you go back far enough where none of the characters are really relevant, you end up winking at the audience and mentioning things that happened instead of focusing on the story.

This movie made me appreciate what Better Call Saul does even more.

Showing us events that we "heard" about, introducing characters we already knew and maybe know where they end up, showing what made a character act a certain way, how they got that scar, it's all fun and good fan service, but you need a story. This movie didn't really have one.

This is not a movie...

[sjbx07 · 8/10 · 2 October 2021]

It's the 1st 2 episodes of a new TV show.

One I'd very much like to see come to fruition.

As a stand alone movie it doesn't work though so my score is very much reliant on that happening, which I'm convinced must be David Chase's intention.