The Many Saints of Newark, which has been referred to as a prequel to the beloved Sopranos television show, had high expectations from fans of the famous HBO series. The trailer for the film, and much of the the advertising, lead viewers to believe the movie was going to focus on the man who made Tony Soprano into "Tony Soprano." That man is Dickie Moltisanti, who is heavily referenced on The Sopranos, and is the father to character Christopher Moltisanti. The complex love-hate father-son relationship between Tony and Christopher builds throughout The Sopranos series, reaching the dramatic end when Tony strangles Christopher to death.
The Many Saints of Newark tells Dickie's story, and shows his relationship with a young Tony, played by Michael Gandolfini (James Gandolfini's son.)
6 The Film Hasn't Received The Same Admiration As The Show
The film hasn't been received by fans with the same admiration as the televsion show, leaving most Sopranos fans disapointed. General feedback from televsion critics urges viewers to watch The Many Saints of Newark as its own entity, separate from the televsion show. But it's difficult to separate the movie from the show when The Many Saints of Newark relies heavily on the televsion show.
5 Too Many 'Sopranos' References
Fans of the television show felt like the The Many Saints of Newark relied too heavily on referencing things from the television show, making the film feel forced and unoriginal. The movie often recycles lines and character sentiments that were used in the television show. TV critics are calling the movie fan service, and the intention of this fan service was probably meant to be a positive. The reaction from fans seems to be the movie was too heavy handed and meta in regards to The Sopranos. Fans wanted to see something exciting, new, and original, not a reboot of the television show they fell in love with. Thus leading to the main topic fans have been debating: was this movie even necessary? Was a preqeul to The Sopranos needed? Many fans have decided they did not need this version of a prequel, and could just rewatch old episodes if they were feeling nostalgic for The Sopranos.
4 David Chase's Role
It's difficult to seperate David Chase as filmmaker from any conversation about The Sopranos. David Chase is the creator, writer, and director of the televsion show. His credits for The Many Saints of Newark include writer and producer, however the film was directed by Alan Taylor. In an interview with The Financial Times, Chase was transparent that "backers Warner Bros gave him carte blanche, as long as his story was recognisably Sopranos." Some fans believe the only way Chase was able to make the film he wanted to make, which was a movie surrounding the Newark riots of 1967, had to somehow tie into The Sopranos mythology. Fans of Chase and The Sopranos feel the film lacks the same passion and vision from Chase, that was so easily identifiable on the televsion show.
3 Multiple Storylines
The Many Saints of Newark is a movie with multiple story lines, and doesn’t solely tell the stories of characters from The Sopranos mythology. We’re introduced to Leslie Odom Jr.’s character Harold McBrayer, and his involvement with the DiMeo crime family. There is also the backdrop of the Newark riots and racial tension with cops. The film tries to tie young Tony Soprano’s introduction into the mob world with Dickie's story, while Dickie spends most of the movie battling his own demons. Between the multiple story lines, and the film lasting two hours, many fans felt this could have been more succesful as a miniseries, so the story lines could be fleshed out thourougly.
2 Christopher Moltisanti From Beyond The Grave
The opening scene to The Many Saints of Newark got viewers off on a disorienting foot. If you didn’t have closed captions on, it was easy to miss that some of the opening narration came from deceased characters from the television show. The opening shot ends with a close up on the gravestone of Christopher Moltisanti. Fans were confused why Christopher only narrates a small portion of the movie, and narrates at various times. Sadly, most fans would have wished Christopher just stayed dead instead of trying to revive him in this way.
1 Uncle Junior, Paulie, Sal, Liv, Etc.
It's always difficult recreating iconic characters that hold so much meaning for fans and were played so well by the original actors. Sopranos hallmark characters including Uncle Junior, Paulie Wallnuts, Livia Soprano, and Sal (to name a few) come back to life in The Many Saints of Newark, but as younger versions of themselves. Fans ultimately were left disapointed by this revival, constantly comparing the younger, newer characters to the older ones. At times, it was also difficult to identify which character was which, without having to re-watch or have closed captions on. For example, a viewer could have easily missed Billy Magnussen's portrayl of Paulie.
The Many Saints of Newark is currently playing in movie theatres, and streaming on HBO Max. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 73% tomatometer rating and a 59% audience score.
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