For fans who always want a Sopranos movie, well, you finally got one! I don’t know if we really needed a Sopranos movie, but why not. Now I freely admit that I am not a huge fan of the show and don’t think it’s the greatest drama ever on TV, that would be The West Wing.  But I do recognize the fact that it is a good show and there was certainly a lot of history that could be explored with the characters that were introduced in the series. So why not a prequel that shows how Tony Soprano got in the family business and when all of his associates were young mob guys in New Jersey. And we have James Gandolfini’s own son Michael play the younger version of Tony soprano is probably the best part of the film and brings a sense of nostalgia to the series. You can really see a lot of his father in him, but as good as he is in the role of the younger Tony Soprano, I don’t know if that alone is good enough to make this film great. The only thing that I really take away from the film is it’s more of a nostalgic movie for those who love the TV show, but if you compare it to other mob movies, it certainly isn’t up there with Goodfellas or The Godfather.

The Many Saints of Newark isn’t really so much about Tony Soprano as it is about the men who influenced him, especially that of Dickie Moltisanti, the father of Christopher, who we all got to know in the show played so brilliantly by Michael Imperioli. I honestly feel like this movie is more about him than it really is about Tony Soprano, but he is the main relative who truly influenced Tony and that is very evident when watching this film. The first thing that I will say is, the performances are outstanding, there’s no denying that Alessandra Nivola, who plays Dickie is brilliant and Ray Liotta, who has a dual role of not only playing Dickie’s father, but also his father’s twin brother Salvatore, who is serving a life sentence in prison for murdering a “made man.” It’s Ray Liotta’s first mobster role since Goodfellas and he shines as these two characters who personify the ultimate duality in man, one who is violent and controlling, while the other finds some sort of inner peace and can accept his own reality. But I have to say that the best performance has to be Vera flamingo who plays the younger Livia Soprano. She is damn near perfect and really makes you believe that she is the younger version of Nancy Marshawn who played Livia in the TV series. It’s truly the performances that make this movie. But a very talented cast can only make a movie so good if the writing really isn’t there. I feel like this movie is just a series of flashbacks edited together to make a movie, that’s what it honestly feels like. The scenes in this movie could have very well have been flashbacks from Tony as he’s talking to his therapist in the TV series. They didn’t make me care anymore for the characters than what the TV series did and I think that’s because you get to know all of these characters and their history over the course of six seasons, more than you can in the film.

I’m not saying this is a bad movie, if you are a Sopranos fan then you’re going to love the movie because it’s nice to see the wiseguys that you’ve came to love when they’re in their prime, but the younger Tony Soprano was more of a sidelined character that passes an out of scenes with the stronger characters in the film. Because like I said before, this is not so much about Tony’s story as it is Dickie who really is the matriarch of this mob family at that time. Jon Bernthal is great as Tony’s dad, he can electrify any screen, but his character is not really that important. I feel more connected to his character through how Tony described him in his therapy sessions. Now what I consider the best part of the film is the cinematography and taking us back to what a mob-run New Jersey look like during the 60s and 70s. The overall look with the cars and the infusion of great music really makes you feel like you’re watching a Scorsese mob film. It certainly makes me feel more for this film than I probably really should, but the overall story is kind of convoluted and more or less a history lesson of how things used to be and to show us all these people who influenced Tony. It doesn’t compare to the series, but you watch this movie for the great performances because everybody did a great job especially Michael Gandolfini… I mean, I can certainly see doing a younger Tony Soprano series when he was up and coming and when he and Camilla were first married and started to have kids that would lead up to where the show starts in 1999.

My big take on this film is it really feels like a made-for-TV movie that you make after a Series has been so successful and you just want to bring that nostalgia back, as they did with three or four Gunsmoke movies or a Return to Mayberry movie. It’s just never going to be as good and it’s more nostalgic than anything else. But I’m not telling you not to watch it, it’s perfect for HBO Max and I certainly wouldn’t run to the theater to see it. In fact, the best way to watch it is if you’re starting to binge-watch the series again take a break and check out the movie. I hadn’t watched the series in a long time and after watching the movie, I started the series over so the nostalgia factor really works, but this movie is just okay and the only reason it’s better than it is, is because of the performances and the phenomenal cast. Plus, it’s great having Ray Liotta back in a mobster movie. I can definitely see him being the mob patriarch now that he’s older. So go ahead and check it out on HBO max if you’re a fan of The Sopranos. It’s the kind of movie that can make you fall in love with the series all over again, but don’t waste a movie ticket unless it’s a matinee and you are just super into mob movies!