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The Many Saints of Newark (Sopranos prequel) Spoiler talk.

It’s Time To Go

It’s Time To Go

Member
Dec 2, 2017
20,696
Big spoilers for the movie in here, in the US its the 1st October release, but we already got it in Europe.




- Very fan service-y, sometimes too much. In particular, Junior doing the line about Tony never being a varsity athlete.
- I think as a big fan of the original series, a non fan would find it close to incomprehensible, since the movie assumes you already know a lot of these characters and the history already.
- The stuff about the Newark riots and the obvious racism displayed by all the characters and the authorities was great, and I wish it had been given more screen time. Ditto the gang war, which didn't feel like it got as much as screen time as it deserved.
- Ray Liotta playing two characters who look very similar is also related to this. Obviously it harkens back to the Philly/Patsy Parisi thing, but it was kinda confusing.
- Michael Gandolfini isn't in the film as much as some of the trailers suggested, but he's very good when he is. Very much invoking his father without ever feeling like he was trying to copy it since of course, Tony in the 1960s/70s was a very different person. The real star when it comes to invoking James Gandolfini without feeling like imitation was Alessandro Nivola, as in it was easy to see where adult Tony had picked up a lot of stuff and manners from him.
- Dickie Moltisanti is in general a great character, and does feel very much like a predecessor to the Tony soprano of the tv series we know, self pitying, trying to do good deeds to make up for his being a vicious psychopath, and just enough self awareness to be aware of it, but not enough to do anything proper about it.
- Michela De Rossi is very good. A strong, tragic character trapped in a world where she's still forced to be subservient while the men can behave how they like.
- In the same vein, a lot of good characters, with the biggest weak link being the guy playing Silvio, which felt like an imitation. Mattea Conforti was a great Janice, even though it wasn't a huge role.
- Not 100% convinced Jon Berthnal was the right choice for Johnny Boy, but Corey Stoll kills it as Junior. Really brings across that feeling of kind resentment at what an absolute boob Junior is, second best uncle, second in the family, perennial joke.
- At first I wasn't sure I liked the ending that Junior was responsible for the death for Dickie, but it makes a lot of sense in hindsight, and fits with his character.
- Vera Farmiga as Livia was great as well. A lot more vulnerable than the Livia we meet in the 1990s, but still just as emotionally damaged and fucked up.
- There's a scene that was shown on the tv series that they've completely redone, which I liked less. It wasn't a huge deal and probably made more sense overall but it just felt weird to do.
 
Faddy

Faddy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,184
I found watching some of the actors play younger versions of established characters pretty tough. Silvio was so over the top. I can't believe they had Dickie's final scene be with Silvio.

I think the movie lacked humour. The Sopranos is a funny show. It isn't a comedy but there is always a joke or a bit of physical comedy thrown in to make it a bit lighter. Young Tony had a bit but nowhere near enough. The movie felt very dry.

Some of the stuff was just baffling. The blind baseball scene??? why?

I really don't get the point of the movie. As a movie about Dickie Moltisanti it is lacking. As a movie about Tony and Dickie it completely skips over any development of their relationship. i think it is very easy to say Dickie Moltisanti is a dangerous psychopath and that is why he seems so incongruous as a character, but I think it is genuinely just a lack of depth.

The apparent twist of Junior ordering the hit on Dickie pulled the rug away from any coherent plot ideas.

I could not get away from some of the incongruous ways racism was shown. For example johnny couldn't even have a black man on his block but Harold can come into the back of Satriale's and make wise cracks? Same as him being able to walk into Dickie's club and make jokes about Italians. i think Harold was the best part of the film but these scenes did not feel right.
 
OP
OP
It’s Time To Go

It’s Time To Go

Member
Dec 2, 2017
20,696
Faddy said:
I found watching some of the actors play younger versions of established characters pretty tough. Silvio was so over the top. I can't believe they had Dickie's final scene be with Silvio.

I think the movie lacked humour. The Sopranos is a funny show. It isn't a comedy but there is always a joke or a bit of physical comedy thrown in to make it a bit lighter. Young Tony had a bit but nowhere near enough. The movie felt very dry.

Some of the stuff was just baffling. The blind baseball scene??? why?

I really don't get the point of the movie. As a movie about Dickie Moltisanti it is lacking. As a movie about Tony and Dickie it completely skips over any development of their relationship. i think it is very easy to say Dickie Moltisanti is a dangerous psychopath and that is why he seems so incongruous as a character, but I think it is genuinely just a lack of depth.

The apparent twist of Junior ordering the hit on Dickie pulled the rug away from any coherent plot ideas.

I could not get away from some of the incongruous ways racism was shown. For example johnny couldn't even have a black man on his block but Harold can come into the back of Satriale's and make wise cracks? Same as him being able to walk into Dickie's club and make jokes about Italians. i think Harold was the best part of the film but these scenes did not feel right.
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Yes I'd say that was true about the racism. It was extremely under developed, which was disappointing when it had so much potential and already was the best part of the film.
 
Faddy

Faddy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,184
WriterInTheDark said:
Yes I'd say that was true about the racism. It was extremely under developed, which was disappointing when it had so much potential and already was the best part of the film.
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With the way the movie ended it left me empty. Like the Newark Riots and all the racism was not in service of the movie but just set dressing for a not very good story.

Where's my arc David Chase? Dickie is the exact same guy at the start of the movie as he is at the end. His self realisation that he is an asshole isn't an arc. We already had that thrown at us for multiple scenes before he accepted it.

David Chase should have watched this scene again



You know who had an arc? Noah Harold. He learns about his place in the world, sets out to change it. He takes action and challenges the status quo. But he doesn't get a proper final scene.

Hey Harold your story is over because Junior Soprano couldn't get a hard on.
 
OP
OP
It’s Time To Go

It’s Time To Go

Member
Dec 2, 2017
20,696
Faddy said:
With the way the movie ended it left me empty. Like the Newark Riots and all the racism was not in service of the movie but just set dressing for a not very good story.

Where's my arc David Chase? Dickie is the exact same guy at the start of the movie as he is at the end. His self realisation that he is an asshole isn't an arc. We already had that thrown at us for multiple scenes before he accepted it.

David Chase should have watched this scene again



You know who had an arc? Noah Harold. He learns about his place in the world, sets out to change it. He takes action and challenges the status quo. But he doesn't get a proper final scene.

Hey Harold your story is over because Junior Soprano couldn't get a hard on.
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I can't disagree with anything you said. He realises he's a bad person, but like Tony in the future, he lacks the strength to truly change. He can't even cut the ties with Tony fully, even though he clearly knows he's nothing but bad news for his future.

I suppose you could call it very self indulgent. Which is surprising since Chase rarely indulged in such sentiments in the original series.
 
butzopower

butzopower

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,864
London
Saw this tonight, hyped up a bit for it but kept my expectations low. Def too much fan service, where I feel like the core beat of the film sort of relies on you knowing what's coming up next. It feels like a weird comparison but I sort of felt like I was watching one of the Star Wars prequels where a lot of characters are just in the scene to take up space and throw back. Maybe that's most prequels, but feel like there were quite a few fairly throw away lines in the series that are expanded on in the film for no real reason other than to do it. Do not like the idea of Christopher doing the narration at all either, something about it feels very cringey, though maybe I'm missing something in it. Doesn't exactly feel like a cash grab or anything, feels like David Chase maybe wanted to develop the Sopranos world a bit more and maybe should have written a book or something or did like a comic. Overall pretty forgettable, though I hope it gets Michael Gandolfini more work.
 
Freewheelin

Freewheelin

Member
Nov 1, 2017
584
Enjoyed this quite a bit and yeah it did get a bit fan-servicey at times lol.

Still, the acting was strong across the board. I wish it was a bit longer though as it felt quite rushed.
 
AnimeAvatar

AnimeAvatar

Member
Apr 28, 2021
631
When I saw a scene where infant Christopher cries when Tony holds him that's when I started worrying this movie would be too self-referential and I guess I was right.
 
Landawng

Landawng

The Fallen
Nov 9, 2017
3,270
Denver/Aurora, CO
Hmm this was alright. Just an unnecessary movie. I think it needed to be a series instead. Didn't hate it tho. Silvio bothered me so much at first, but I think I really liked the last few scenes with him. Junior was great. Vera Farmiga was also really good. Too much time wasted on characters we don't know anything about.
 
evil solrac v3.0

evil solrac v3.0

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,257
NYC
how many years does the movie cover? I haven't seen it yet but Tony can't be a teenager in the 60s. he was born in about 1958-1959.
 
Jokerman

Jokerman

Member
May 16, 2020
6,996
It has been a while since I watched the series, but was it ever established in that, that Dickie's goomah was actually Christopher's mother?
 
dmncnby2k20

dmncnby2k20

Member
Oct 25, 2017
226
WriterInTheDark said:
Big spoilers for the movie in here, in the US its the 1st October release, but we already got it in Europe.




- Very fan service-y, sometimes too much. In particular, Junior doing the line about Tony never being a varsity athlete.
- I think as a big fan of the original series, a non fan would find it close to incomprehensible, since the movie assumes you already know a lot of these characters and the history already.
- The stuff about the Newark riots and the obvious racism displayed by all the characters and the authorities was great, and I wish it had been given more screen time. Ditto the gang war, which didn't feel like it got as much as screen time as it deserved.
- Ray Liotta playing two characters who look very similar is also related to this. Obviously it harkens back to the Philly/Patsy Parisi thing, but it was kinda confusing.
- Michael Gandolfini isn't in the film as much as some of the trailers suggested, but he's very good when he is. Very much invoking his father without ever feeling like he was trying to copy it since of course, Tony in the 1960s/70s was a very different person. The real star when it comes to invoking James Gandolfini without feeling like imitation was Alessandro Nivola, as in it was easy to see where adult Tony had picked up a lot of stuff and manners from him.
- Dickie Moltisanti is in general a great character, and does feel very much like a predecessor to the Tony soprano of the tv series we know, self pitying, trying to do good deeds to make up for his being a vicious psychopath, and just enough self awareness to be aware of it, but not enough to do anything proper about it.
- Michela De Rossi is very good. A strong, tragic character trapped in a world where she's still forced to be subservient while the men can behave how they like.
- In the same vein, a lot of good characters, with the biggest weak link being the guy playing Silvio, which felt like an imitation. Mattea Conforti was a great Janice, even though it wasn't a huge role.
- Not 100% convinced Jon Berthnal was the right choice for Johnny Boy, but Corey Stoll kills it as Junior. Really brings across that feeling of kind resentment at what an absolute boob Junior is, second best uncle, second in the family, perennial joke.
- At first I wasn't sure I liked the ending that Junior was responsible for the death for Dickie, but it makes a lot of sense in hindsight, and fits with his character.
- Vera Farmiga as Livia was great as well. A lot more vulnerable than the Livia we meet in the 1990s, but still just as emotionally damaged and fucked up.
- There's a scene that was shown on the tv series that they've completely redone, which I liked less. It wasn't a huge deal and probably made more sense overall but it just felt weird to do.
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Which scene was that?
 
iHeartGameDev

iHeartGameDev

Member
Feb 22, 2019
1,121
About halfway through. It's ok. I just rewatched the full series over the past few weeks and this isn't really up to the same quality so far.
 
Avik-G

Avik-G

alt account
Banned
Jul 27, 2021
849
I thought it was decent. Like a really solid two-parter Sopranos episode. Dickie is a fantastic character and the actor who played him did a phenomenal job with him.

I think it makes the same mistake the Star Wars Prequels made when they came out though. A lot of the references/cameos arent really needed and they get shoved in there because the original "universe" is so beloved by the fans. Felt like Pauly/Pussy/Silvio didnt really have anything to do and were just written in as fan service.

Having said that, I dont know if they will ever do it but I would love to see a part 2 of this. Maybe picking up on Tony's early years.
 
Corncob

Corncob

Prophet of Truth
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,627
UK
Soundscream said:
You think that he would have the baby with the other woman, take it to his wife and not be mentioned at all for the rest of the film? I don't think not having her own salon would be her main gripe for the rest of the film 🤣
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To be fair it was super confusing in the film. They talk specifically about how much trouble she's having getting pregnant but then suddenly it cuts to the future and there's Christopher. It definitely felt like something was cut from the film.
 
VeryHighlander

VeryHighlander

The Fallen
May 9, 2018
6,436
This was pretty disappointing. I thought Chase was itching to tell some grand story or something. That's why he's digging this IP out of the grave. Nope. No meaningful arcs.

Gandolfini was great though. The biggest surprise for me was Stoll as uncle jun. I thought that was miscast but god damn he nailed it. I do agree with someone else in this thread that Bernthal as Johnny was really bad though. And yeah, this movie wasn't funny at all. Other than the varsity athlete line, ofc.
 
Dalek

Dalek

Member
Oct 25, 2017
39,103
I'm disappointed to hear that there isn't any humor in the film. Humor was basically 1/3 of the DNA of the show. Mafia/Pyschiatry/Humor
 
Ashes of Dreams

Ashes of Dreams

Fallen Guardian of Unshakable Resolve
Member
May 22, 2020
14,737
Just finished watching it.

I haven't watched The Sopranos in 13 years so I can't really compare the performances of these young versions to the older ones. Everyone felt more or less "right" though there's sometimes clearly a bit too much effort put into making them look like The Young Version Of X Character. It never crossed the line into being inauthentic though, to me at least.

As for the movie itself? It's weird. Some plot points feel like they move at rapid pace while others crawl along like snails and don't amount to much. I think we spent way too long with Child Tony and not enough with the Teen Tony they sold the movie on. Both are fine in their own right but it should have been one or the other and if I had to pick, I'd go with the teenage one. Though the last few scenes felt really weird. Tony is upset, throws out his speaks, says he wants nothing to do with the crime family, then stares at his dead uncle's ring and remembers the pinky swear to... what was it for again? Being good, right? And the Sopranos theme plays. That moment should really hit, invoking the theme should feel like "this is the moment he became the Tony Soprano we know", but it just doesn't feel properly built up to.

I did enjoy other aspects, though. The riots section was great, the brief crime war stuff was great, honestly most of "the plot" was good, it was just the character arcs that felt... well, like they were written for a TV show and not a movie, I guess. As someone who grew up in the 1990s and 2000s Central New Jersey, it's interesting to see a depiction of a time period I've seen the ramifications of but didn't live through. I think a better version of this movie would have focused more on the build up and fallout of the riots. Though I also recognize they were held back by the timeline they set themselves up for in the show with these characters.

I almost feel like this should have been two movies. Do one about the riots with Child Tony and do one about the fallout with Teenage Tony.
And maybe make Dickie a bit more interesting. He's not go too much going on and nothing about this... mistress drama and violent outbursts and whatnot is anywhere close to being new material for mafia films. Or The Sopranos specifically. Also I kept waiting for them to reveal that there wasn't any twin uncle he was talking to and it was going to get a little more psychological, as the show was known for doing. As it stands there doesn't seem too much of a point to all those scenes other than to set up someone telling him to say away from Tony which just led to the messy ending.

Oh and cut the fanservice. Some of it was okay but the Christopher narration and wink wind nudge nudge at the audience with baby Christopher were both awful and added nothing to the film.
 
jett

jett

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,687
This was about as good as the actor playing Silvio.

sopranos-christopher-moltisanti.gif


Doesn't work as a Sopranos prequel and neither does it work as a gangster movie of its own. I feel like there was no purpose or drive or really anything to this thing.
 

Jiggy

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
9,336
wherever
It was okay. Tony's arc felt kind of incomplete although I thought Michael Gandolfini killed it. Dickie was great and he was easily the best part of the movie. I enjoyed seeing the young versions of Junior, Livia, and Johnny boy, they were every bit as awful as you'd expect.

Maybe too much fanservice? Like almost every Sopranos character either got a cameo or a name drop. I'm surprised there wasn't a Pine Barrens reference.
 
Speevy

Speevy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,406
It's funny that we're criticizing the portrayal of an actor playing the younger version of an actor portrayed by a musician.
 
Soundscream

Soundscream

Member
Nov 2, 2017
9,239
Sane Man said:
To be fair it was super confusing in the film. They talk specifically about how much trouble she's having getting pregnant but then suddenly it cuts to the future and there's Christopher. It definitely felt like something was cut from the film.
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It was handled awkwardly, but no so bad that you should have thought that Christopher's mom was the other woman.
 
Atom Heart Mother

Atom Heart Mother

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,314
new jersey
Just watched it. Felt the way it was advertised was NOT what I actually watched. Which is pleasing. But the plot felt a bit too all over the place. Harold & riots felt like nothing in the film, because half of it takes place in a time skip.

Junior ordering the hit wasn't out of character if you watched the show and knew how fucking petty he is. Dickie made a fool of him. The fan service in the movie was a bit over the top only when Junior said the meme line, but thats really it. I actually appreciated the little details like Livia mentioning patio furniture selling, and the beehive shooting incident. Those are some details that even my mother, a big fan didn't notice until I pointed it out.

This film is a Dickie Moltisanti film first and foremost. Not a Tony + his crew film. And I like it for that. But god. Sequel baiting up the max, fuck. I hope next film is written by Chase & Winter.
 
Speevy

Speevy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,406
The film feels like it stops and starts with the good ideas and things you want to watch, then quickly diverts to something uninteresting, boring, contrived.

The movie should have been about one thing. It's not a crime epic. It's a story that should have covered one inciting incident perhaps leading to Tony's entrance into that world. I can barely remember any of it except for how half-baked all the storylines are.
 
Tobor

Tobor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
28,776
Richmond, VA
I liked the actor who played Silvio. It's a thankless role, as the character has such weird mannerisms, so it was always going to look like an impression, but I thought he did fine with what he had.

As for the last scene with Sil and Dickie, I liked that too. Sil always had a good bead on where Tony was emotionally, and acted as the consigliere, and to see him playing the same role for Dickie made sense to me.

Is it a good movie? No. Would it have been a good couple of episodes of the show, sure. It's not perfect, and it could have used more humor, but I enjoyed it.
 
ebugg

ebugg

Member
Nov 3, 2018
211
the acting on tony, dickie and livia were great
young versions of junior, pussy, and janice were good
paulie + johnny were eh
i never want to see sil again

the story and pacing were all over the place, i feel like this could have been good as 8 episodes. oddly enough i loved the ending.
 
Ambient

Ambient

Member
Dec 23, 2017
7,256
It was fine… nowhere near the highs of the series. I can't see myself rewatching anytime soon.

Jon Bernthal was the only performance I didn't like.
 
HououinKyouma

HououinKyouma

The Wise Ones
Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,387
Went to the movies to watch it with some buddies. One of them (and myself) have seen the full series. Two of my friends have not. To say the latter group was confused would be an understatement lmao; not much value here without really knowing the series. Even from my perspective though, this was pretty disappointing. The writing was shockingly...bad? This really felt like something that should have been a miniseries too with how many separate stories it was trying to tell. I just didn't see cohesion in much of the plot.

On the bright side, I was howlin' at some of the performances. They nailed it with some of the casting choices.

Overall, it was some fun fan service as a Sopranos fan, but not something I plan on watching again.
 
BossAttack

BossAttack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
43,186
Ooof, just finished.

I agree with everything stated in the OP. Sil's actor was really bad because of how much an imitation the performance was, really bad call. But Junior was great because he's not trying to imitate, but channel what makes Junior, Junior.

But regardless, the movie just felt aimless. Setting things up and then forgetting it, then diving deep into fan-service only to then pull out. The best parts are just dealing with Dickie and Harold, the worst is everything else trying to distract from that. Like, do we really need to see things Tony already told us about his childhood play out exactly as he told us in the series?

This very clearly felt like a setup to a larger series than a film in its own right. The Sopranos routinely had fake-outs where things seemed important but were later nothing, or confrontations built up that are clipped quickly. However, it all built around an overall theme and purpose. This just didn't have that, it was all remember when?

And remember when is the lowest form of conversation.
 
BossAttack

BossAttack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
43,186
CrankyJay said:
Oh madon', this was pretty bad.

Fuckin' uncle Jun.
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When he made that crack about Jun and his girl, I knew right then and there that he was dead.

EDIT:

Speaking of Jun. I found it odd how the film kept bringing up Tony and his Uncle playing catch, you know the one consistent positive memory Anthony has of him, and yet it never actually happening on-screen.
 
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