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(CNN)Origin stories aren't reserved for superheroes, arsenic "Joker" made clear. But the mob play occupies a peculiar niche, with "The Many Saints of Newark" pursuing "The Godfather Part II" successful charting the roots of a transgression kingpin, arsenic good arsenic a privileged lad who, contempt nobler aspirations for him, goes into the bloody household business.
"Many Saints" represents an absorbing exercise, not lone pursuing up the landmark TV bid "The Sopranos" with a movie prequel but doing truthful 14 years aft the quality of Tony Soprano (the precocious large James Gandolfini) signed off, leaving down endless debate astir what happened astatine the end.
Yet successful presumption of who wore it better, watching "Many Saints" simply heightens an appreciation of each that the "Godfather" sequel represented then, and remains now. Not lone did the movie spell backmost to uncover however Vito Corleone (played by Robert De Niro) became the Godfather, but it explored the motivation decay of his lad Michael (Al Pacino), the warfare leader who turned retired to beryllium the champion suited temperamentally to regenerate his father, contempt dad's hopes that Michael would flight that life.
"I ne'er wanted this for you," the elder Vito tells him successful the archetypal movie, but by then, the dice has been cast.
Despite the similarities -- and a billboard that coyly asks "Who Made Tony Soprano" -- "Many Saints of Newark" runs on respective parallel tracks. The astir salient arc involves Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), the uncle to whom Tony looked up, who would play an oversized relation successful his beingness during these formative years.
That really leaves Tony arsenic thing of an afterthought for overmuch of the movie, with the transportation to the archetypal heightened by the casting of Gandolfini's son, Michael, successful that role.
Practically speaking, there's nary enigma wherefore studios would beryllium funny successful digging into the past of fashionable franchises, which often represents a much businesslike mode of tapping into presold titles without needing to spell wage the endowment a luck to reprise their roles. As a bonus, HBO is pushing "The Sopranos" crossed its networks and streaming platforms, maximizing the bada-bang for its bucks.
Still, there's besides thing peculiarly resonant astir seeing the makings of a monster, particularly erstwhile the way from a much mundane beingness to a beingness of transgression and execution offered exit ramps on the way.
Like Michael, Tony was seen arsenic having the imaginable to prosecute bigger and amended (or astatine slightest little dangerous) endeavors, earlier descending -- rung by rung -- into the beingness helium would aboriginal notation to arsenic "This happening of ours." And "The Godfather Part II" illustrates however Vito transformed from humble migrant to Mafia titan, doing his ain soiled enactment earlier determination were soldiers to dispatch making "offers" that can't beryllium refused.
Inevitably, these movies person a mode of romanticizing their subjects, portion making wide that their enactment comes astatine a perilous cost. In Michael Corleone's case, that included a tendency to spell morganatic summed up by the astir memorable (and often quoted) enactment from the 3rd movie, "Just erstwhile I thought I was out, they propulsion maine backmost in."
For anyone puzzled arsenic to wherefore "The Sopranos" would beryllium backmost aft specified an extended lack successful this altered form, there's the explanation. Because the Corleones and the Sopranos mightiness correspond figures from the past, but erstwhile it comes to this "thing" known arsenic Hollywood, astir thing with a shred of equity successful it ever truly dies.
"The Many Saints of Newark" premieres Oct. 1 successful US theaters and connected HBO Max, and it's being released by Warner Bros., similar CNN, portion of WarnerMedia. It's rated R.
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