The Many Saints Of Newark is an exciting release for Sopranos fans, with the film serving as a prequel to the classic HBO series as it follows a young Anthony Soprano. With a series as iconic as The Sopranos, however, fans will be wanting to know if it’s actually any good.
There’s not too long to go now before the film’s release, which will be on October 1 both in theaters and on HBO Max. In the meantime, early reviews should give an idea of whether lead actor Michael Gandolfini, the son of original Tony Soprano actor James Gandolfini, lives up to his father’s portrayal of the character.
At the time of writing, the film has 16 critics giving an aggregate score of 67 on Metacritic. The aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes, on the other hand, skews more positive at 77% from a sampling of 31 reviews. The Many Saints Of Newark doesn’t release until October 1, so the scores will no doubt change as more people check out the film. The early reviews suggest it’s worth a watch when it releases, whether you check it out in theatres or on HBO Max.
Below, you’ll see a selection of some of the reviews that have been published for The Many Saints Of Newark so far.
The Many Saints Of Newark
- Directed by: Alan Taylor
- Written by: David Chase and Lawrence Konner
- Starring: Michael Gandolfini, Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, Vera Farmiga, and Ray Liotta
- Release Date: October 1
IndieWire – B-
“Directed with unfussy confidence by “Sopranos” veteran Alan Taylor, it wants to give people more of a show they love because of how forcefully it argues that more is never enough. The result, almost by design, is equal parts gratuitous fan service and gripping mob drama; a clumsy devil’s handshake of a film that’s asphyxiated to death by the same mythology it also leverages into a masterful origin story about cyclical violence and the sins of the father. ” – David Ehrlich – [Full review]
The Hollywood Reporter – no score
“Efficiently directed by Alan Taylor, who won an Emmy for his work on the HBO series, and written by Chase with Lawrence Konner, the film, for better or worse, defies expectations of what a prequel to The Sopranos would appear to promise. Meaning this is not a close look at the formative years of New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano. At least not directly.” – David Rooney – [Full review]
Entertainment Weekly – B+
“Saints can’t be what Sopranos was–without the time or the ones who’ve been lost to tell it, fuggedaboutit. But for a hundred-something minutes, it feels close enough to coming home again.” – Leah Greenblatt – [Full review]
Variety – No score
“Watching ‘The Many Saints of Newark,’ this ‘Sopranos’ fan found Tony’s “evolution” toward the dark side to be even less convincing than Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader at the climax of ‘Revenge of the Sith.’ At the end, I felt like we needed a second prequel, or maybe just that essential TV thing: another episode.” – Owen Gleiberman – [Full review]
Deadline – No score
“Chase’s characters and this material always satisfy just as they leave you ready for more.” – Todd McCarthy – [Full review]
Den Of Geek – 3/5
“The Many Saints of Newark is a brutal, though brooding, gangster film on par with some of Warner Brothers’ B-movie gangster classics. But it’s not the A-list. It would have benefited from psychiatry and cunnilingus.” – Tony Sokol – [Full review]
Slant – 2/4
“The Many Saints of Newark, for all of its polish and ornate camera movements, doesn’t exactly resemble its small-screen predecessor. The film’s color palette trends toward icy, desaturated hues, reflective perhaps of the unromantic nature of the story but also similar to so much contemporary prestige television. The emotional tenor of this aesthetic is so two-dimensional that it weighs down the drama, too frequently robbing all the cathartic eruptions of emotion of much of their power. ” – Jake Cole – [Full review]
