The Godfather (2021)

I’ve actually gone back to rewatching The Sopranos because of this movie, just feeling like I needed to refresh my memory on everything. It honestly feels like it could turn out to be a really solid film, especially since I see Chase was involved in the production 👍

As a massive devotee of The Sopranos, I have a sinking feeling about this movie. It seems to me that these days, nothing of actual substance gets produced outside of prestige television series.

Unfortunately, this movie is absolute garbage—a total waste of two hours of my life.

The script? Zero. The direction? Same story. It’s boring, lacking any compelling plot to actually pull you in or hold your attention. You honestly get the feeling they just filmed some random scenes that popped into their heads and taped them together... barely even connected.

Nivola carries the weight as the lead, doing what he can, and Farmiga is decent enough. Michael Gandolfini—surprisingly mediocre given his limited screen time, though he isn't worth much mention anyway, since I find him unappealing and weak... Most of the rest are simply bad. Some actors played their parts like it was their first time ever—you can see the overacting and the forced attempts to mimic the original characters, but it just doesn't land. There are plenty of uncharismatic, underdeveloped characters; you couldn't care less what happens to them. All in all, it isn't just bad—it's pathetic.

The best part of the film is when "Woke up this Morning" starts playing at the end. Because after that, there's nothing to see but the credits. It's a shame this ever saw the light of day; it's an insult to the name of The Sopranos. It should never have happened.

coastalangler16 said:Unfortunately, this movie is absolute garbage—a total waste of two hours of my life.

The script? Zero. The direction? Same story. It’s boring, lacking any compelling plot to actually pull you in or hold your attention. You honestly get the feeling they just filmed some random scenes that popped into their heads and taped them together... barely even connected.

Nivola carries the weight as the lead, doing what he can, and Farmiga is decent enough. Michael Gandolfini—surprisingly mediocre given his limited screen time, though he isn't worth much mention anyway, since I find him unappealing and weak... Most of the rest are simply bad. Some actors played their parts like it was their first time ever—you can see the overacting and the forced attempts to mimic the original characters, but it just doesn't land. There are plenty of uncharismatic, underdeveloped characters; you couldn't care less what happens to them. All in all, it isn't just bad—it's pathetic.

The best part of the film is when "Woke up this Morning" starts playing at the end. Because after that, there's nothing to see but the credits. It's a shame this ever saw the light of day; it's an insult to the name of The Sopranos. It should never have happened.

Wait, so Tony Soprano is just a side character in this thing? Based on how the trailer looked, I would've assumed he was the lead... 🤔

wiredskipper said:Wait, so Tony Soprano is just a side character in this thing? Based on how the trailer looked, I would've assumed he was the lead... 🤔

SPOILER...

He is. Dickie Moltisanti is actually the protagonist—the movie poster literally asks "Who made Tony Soprano," which is basically pointing out who influenced him most and served as his role model... Plus, the title "The Many Saints of Newark" is a nod to those old-school Italian roots...

The trailer is nothing more than bait; it makes you think the movie will be different or even better than it actually is... Michael Gandolfini doesn't even show up until the second half of the film, appearing as a teenager... The first part covers his younger years, but they barely give us any meaningful screen time with him as a kid...

That 7.1 rating currently sitting on IMDb? It’ll probably drop to a 6.5 within a month—mostly because fans of the Soprano name are padding the numbers... Look, I think the series is phenomenal, but this movie is just bad. They missed the mark on every single level...

I'm honestly not sure where I stand on this one.

I walked away feeling pretty disappointed—I really expected more, especially considering it’s a prequel to The Sopranos.

It isn't terrible, per se, but it definitely didn't live up to its potential.

Some things are probably better left untouched.

Honestly, it’s pretty weak. There might be a decent movie buried somewhere under the surface, but they absolutely smothered it with constant nods to future characters and the show itself—it's like they couldn't help themselves, which makes almost everything feel like a total miss.
It fails as a standalone movie, and even as a prequel to The Sopranos, it’s just mediocre at best. 👎

Our expectations are simply too high because we're banking on the quality of the series... and frankly, that isn't going to happen.

It’s headed straight for a torrent site just so people can watch it.

🙂

Watched it. I am disappointed on multiple levels. I honestly couldn't even make it to the end. It feels like some redundant drama centered around Dickie Moltisanti. That subplot involving the Black community and the riots was completely muddled and felt entirely unnecessary. While the characters are actually well-developed enough to resemble those from the series, there is absolutely no logical reason why every single one of them had to be crammed into this film. I particularly appreciated the portrayal of young Corad and Tony's mother, whereas the depiction of Tony's father was a total failure; that actor is incredibly irritating and forced—I can't recall a single decent performance from him. John Berntal...🙂 is a terrible character.

The characters are nothing but clichés... the whole Italian mafia trope... classic stuff... suits, greasy hair, slicked-back looks, gold jewelry... the relationships with women and mistresses... always hungry... undershirts. 🤦

I sit there watching, waiting for something to actually happen... and nothing. Absolutely nothing. I have stated this before, and I will repeat it: a sequel following Anthony Jr. and the rest of the crew who survived would have been a far superior concept.

I must, however, commend the casting of the boy playing young Tony. 👍

Honestly, it was a total miss. The soundtrack is the only thing that actually works. Michael Gandolfini definitely looks the part when playing his father, and they nailed the casting for Paulie, even if he feels a bit small on screen. Everything else felt sluggish and the directing was pretty rough. If you haven't seen The Sopranos, save yourself the trouble and skip this—you’ll just end up disappointed. 🍿

rustywalker1 said:

🙂

🤣

Look, I haven't sat down to watch it yet, but clearly everyone else is disappointed. After checking out this video and basically piecing the whole movie together in my head, I honestly don't even feel like bothering. Some of these creative decisions seem incredibly stupid.

I usually find myself gravitating toward films like this, even if I end up thinking they're absolute garbage. But let's be honest: the movie was weak.

I haven't seen it myself, and honestly, after reading all these comments—kind of like what Noah Roberts46 was saying—I don't even feel like watching it anymore.

I don't want to miss a single thing.

The biggest issue for me was how much screen time got sucked away by trivial stuff—like the clutter and that whole affair subplot that dragged on for nearly half the movie. They really should have leaned harder into the dynamics between Dickie, Tony, Junior, and Johnny Boy, who was honestly a huge letdown since he barely had anything to do. Personally, I thought the payoff involving Junior was pretty decent—he feels like exactly the kind of guy who’d pull something like that off—but the connection between him and Dickie felt rushed. They barely shared any actual scenes together.

It also bugged me how much they tried to force those callbacks to the show. Especially that "sister's cunt" line... in the series, it landed perfectly because it felt like a spontaneous outburst, but here it just feels repetitive, like he says it every single time things go sideways. 🤦

I haven't seen anyone else mention this yet, but they definitely messed with the ages of the characters. Tony and Silvio should basically be peers, but in this version, Silvio looks at least ten years older than he should be.

This is actually quite a solid film.

People keep obsessing over the references to the series, but really, whose fault is that if you didn't watch the original show?

I found it deeply satisfying.

And besides, why on earth would anyone expect Tony and Sil to be the same age?

I have to disagree. There is an entire audience out there that can watch this movie as a standalone piece, following the narrative without being weighed down by the intricate details of the series that we, as longtime viewers, carry with us. They don't have that established connection to the characters, so they won't be sitting there making constant comparisons.

This movie just fell right out of the US TOP 10.

The box office is an absolute disaster.

frozenskipper12 said:This is actually quite a solid film.

People keep obsessing over the references to the series, but really, whose fault is that if you didn't watch the original show?

I found it deeply satisfying.

And besides, why on earth would anyone expect Tony and Sil to be the same age?

If you actually watch the show—which, I mean, if you're paying attention—it mentions that Tony, Jackie, and Silvio were all part of the same crew back when they pulled off that heist against Feech La Manna.