The Many Saints of Newark (2021) User Reviews (1,349)

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A great addition to the Sopranos ... Saga

[kosmasp · 10/10 · 26 September 2021]

Having the son of Gandolfini play a young version of Tony Soprano ... I don't think this can get any more meta than that. And while I was not aware while I watched the movie of that fact, it felt eerie how he looked a lot like James Gandolfini. Well now I know why ... and while some may cry nepotism, I urge you to not do that - because it is not just the looks that work here! His acting abilities seems to match that of his father - well after one movie, I should not judge prematurely of course. The likelihood is there that he can also become at least a good actor.

But it is not just the son of Gandolfini here ... while the opening shot plays during the run of the Sopranos show (and I seriously have to rewatch the movie and the tv show together), the movie itself plays way in the past. And it plays way differently than the tv show did. So if you just expect this to be a longer Sopranos episode ... you may dissapointed. But I have a feeling that anyone who loves the Sopranos, will understand that this is a different beast ... or beasts! No pun intended.

So many good actors in this and a lot of hints to things to come ... in the tv show. In fact so many that I am likely to have missed at least half of them. If the shows creator was able to do this and bring this to life, he is the one who will know every single one of them.

Really well created, acted, shot, edited and whatever else you can think of. Only thing I'm not entirely sure of: should you watch this first if you haven't seen the tv show or the Sopranos first and then the movie? But there are issues that one might not have a problem with having ... I say you decide ... hearing some in the sneak preview I was in talk about this being based on a tv show was almost comical. But also goes to show you that the Sopranos are still in everyones mind .. even the people who've never seen it ...

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.

The Story Stinks

[BoomerDT · 4/10 · 4 October 2021]

A generous 4 here...production values and acting are ok and very good in several cases. But the most consideration in any movie or play, unless it's porn or martial arts, is the quality of the story and TMSON is muddled and jumps all over the place. This is supposed to be a prequel to the "Sopranos" about the life in DiMeo Crime family, late 60's-early 70's and the evolution of Tony Soprano. Actually this was accomplished quite successfully in several Sopranos utilizing flashback sequences, showing Tony's father, Johnny Boy Soprano, a stone cold mobster who Tony idolized. Johnny Boy has been pushed to the side in the prequel, as Dickie Moltisanti, father of Chris, becomes Tony's supposed mentor. Dickie also becomes the center of the story, along with David Chase going woke with a subplot that takes at least 1/3 of the movie dealing with empowerment of black organized crime in Newark on the Mafia's turf.

A few other notable discrepancies: Silvio Dante, who in the series was a high school pal on Tony's and Jackie Aprile, is all of a sudden at least 10 years older and one of the DiMeo soldiers, about the same age as Paulie and Pussie Bompasario.

Speaking of the DiMeo's, we never meet one. Not exactly sure who the Capo is supposed to be.

No Hesh, who was Johnny and Junior's associate for their lucrative loan sharking business. They also left out Bobby Baccielieri Sr, Richie Aprile, Feech La Manna, Carmine Lupertazzi and Johhny Sacromoni, who according to the timeline would have been in their prime as career criminals.

They also left out someone who would have been an important character during this timeline, Fran Felstein- Johhny Boy's goomar, played notably in an episode by Polly Bergen. Tony was intially fascinated by Fran, who had also slept with JFK, but becomes repulsed when he learns his dog had been given to her and that his father has been spending the night with her when his mother had been hospitalized with a miscarriage.

Many other important omissions in a story that bounces all over the place. Once again, the best prequel to the Soprano story are the flashbacks in the series.

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.)

"Maybe some of the things you choose to do aren't God's favorites."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 24 December 2022]

I think I got through three seasons of 'The Sopranos' and then lapsed because additional seasons weren't yet available, so it's been a long time. This film felt too far removed from the series and didn't hold my interest in the same way, even as a stand-alone gangster flick. I recognized a lot of the character names from the series, but somehow they felt disconnected from their future counterparts. The idea here being how the young Tony Soprano (Michael Gandolfini) might have earned his stripes growing up in a crime family, but even that didn't come to fruition in any meaningful way. Most of the story centered on Tony's uncle, Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola) and how he took up with his father's (Ray Liotta) mistress (Michela De Rossi) after killing the old man. He later deep sixes Giuseppina over her infidelity, and you have to give the gangster credit for not even the slightest leak about his involvement in those two murders. Through it all, Tony Soprano stands outside the Mafia circle, observing, but giving no hint that at some point in the future, he would be in complete command of all these up and coming hoods. Ray Liotta deserves some credit for a dual role as Richard 'Dick' Moltisanti and Richard's brother Salvatore 'Sally' Moltisanti, non-plussed by a long prison sentence and barely tolerating his nephew's visits. I'd say whether or not you were a fan of the original 'Sopranos', you can afford a pass on this one as it bears only a peripheral resemblance to it, and minimally passes muster as a stand-alone gangster movie.

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?

Candy for 'The Sopranos' fans. I certainly liked it.

[JohnRayPeterson · 8/10 · 3 October 2021]

At the height of the series' six seasons, half way through I'd say, fans couldn't wait for the next episodes, I couldn't; it was like drug addicts waiting for their next fix I suppose. I was one of those fans. After reading the mixed reviews of this movie, and based on the slate of actors in the movie, I decided I'd give it a watch and I did.

I of course disagree with those who lambasted the movie. It wasn't long after the movie started that I felt it was going to be a good prequel movie. At the end I felt it was, and the closing tune that played as credits roll off the screen, was icing on the cake; I love Leonard Cohen's song 'Woke up this morning'. I respect purists point of views but I also appreciate efforts to honour originals with new material and 'The Many Saints of Newark' was that for me, a worthy prequel.

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.

HBO sunk below Netflix

[Horror_Flick_Fanatic · 1/10 · 3 October 2021]

I have appreciated HBO productions in the past. They are one of the oldest, if not the oldest quality adult oriented television producers. But this film sunk far below what I would have expected from even Netflix.

All of the Italian mobsters in this film are cartoonish man babies acting out public tantrums. None of these characters have any class and finesse. None are remotely interesting. Character development is totally absent. I cannot see the slightest effort at a good screenplay. The pacing is off. Attention is taken away from the main characters with a black gangster side story.

I am not blaming the actors because you do have amazing talents in this film. But it all goes to waste with overexaggerated portrayals.

The Extras 3 minute clip is hilarious. The way they justify the director's decisions; it's cringe. This is truly an insult to the original show and it's cast members. This film should have never been made.

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.

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.

A pointless addition to the Sopranos brand

[eddie_baggins · 4/10 · 24 November 2021]

The first taste of Soprano life since the hit HBO series finished its run with its hugely divisive finale in 2007, the streaming giant and Warner Brother's head back to where the life of famed mobster Tony Soprano started as we delve into the formative years of the young Italian/American as his explosive family navigate a world of crime, double crossings and romantic affairs in The Many Saints of Newark.

Billed everywhere as the origin story of Tony, Alan Taylor's two hour feature is in fact the opposite of that as it instead chooses to shine a light mostly on Alessandro Nivola's Dickie Moltisanti (Christopher's father) as he comes head to head with his father (played by an increasingly disheveled looking Ray Liotta), tries to manage his relationship with Michela De Rossi's Giuseppina Moltisanti and act as a father figure to a young Tony who adores his favorite uncle, even more so than his often incarcerated father Johnny, who is portrayed by an underused Jon Bernthal.

Played well by Nivola, Dickie isn't an intriguing enough character in his own right to carry the film and what his getting up too story wise isn't exactly what you'd expect for a feature length affair with one quickly getting the feeling from Newark that whatever the team behind this outing where hoping too achieve would've been better suited to a mini-series or the likes to flesh out what is a film with a lot of ideas and elements but nothing binding it together, as its cold and uninteresting story unfolds to an end game that makes The Sopranos finale feel like a worthwhile exercise.

There is the possibility that even a more fleshed out version of this origin tale wouldn't have made much of a mark, the good version of this tale likely exists in a world where we actually got to grow up alongside Tony in his eccentric and troubled family life and the moments we get to spend with Michael Gandolfini spending time with his mother Livia (played impressively by a prosthetic wearing Vera Farmiga) are some of the best in this plain and drab feature that is unlikely too do much for either long term fans or Soprano newbies who will be utterly bemused by what they may've hoped would be a new Goodfella's look at life in the mob.

What first appeared to be a great chance to dive back into the lives of the Sopranos and all their acquittances instead ends up being an instantly forgettable and mostly pointless exercise to try and draw breath out of a property that has long laid dormant, there's no doubt stories still to tell from this land of great hopes, money, love and betrayal but Newark isn't the outing to showcase the best of what was a genre defining original.

Final Say -

Without any real thread holding it all together and unable to find a reason to exist as it stands, The Many Saints of Newark is a film that just happens without much fanfare or imagination, making it a failed attempt to show a different side of The Sopranos to longtime fans or keen newcomers.

2 ice cream trucks out of 5.