Starring Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Ray Liotta, Michael Gandolfini, Corey Stoll, Michela De Rossi, Billy Magnussen and John Magaro.
Written by David Chase & Lawrence Konner.
Directed by Alan Taylor.
The Sopranos is one of TV's all -time great shows, and it feels like a gift that we get a movie prequel that sends us back into that world, albeit into 30 years before the show began. It's an unusual viewing experience, one where I really don't know how this would play for those who've somewhere between zero and a handful of episodes. It has the meandering sensibilities of most of the Sopranos middle seasons, yet also has a central story that it periodically remembers to rejoin after a few side scenes.
The main character here is Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), and by making this decision, the film can feel like what the Disney+ series like WandaVision and Loki mean to the MCU as a whole. The Sopranos universe has been expanded, and this movie could be seen as a two-hour pilot for a 1970's Sopranos series. Dickie is the father of Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli), who acts as narrator from beyond the grave. We know Dickie died when Christopher was young, so there's a decent chance Dickie doesn't make it to the end credits, which provides suspense as the movie progresses.
Dickie is dealing with his flamboyant crime-boss father Hollywood Dick (the instantly credible Ray Liotta) and his closeness with the Brothers Soprano, Junior (Corey Stoll) and Johnny Boy (Jon Bernthal). He takes a shine to Johnny's son Tony (Michael Imperioli, James' real-life son), who aspires to play college football but can't help get involved with illegal activities. Meanwhile one of his runners, Harold (Hamilton's Leslie Odom Jr.), decides he'd rather go into business for himself, and their friendship turns into a rivalry.
We also get younger versions of Tony's mother Liv (Vera Farmiga, channeling Nancy Marchand AND Edie Falco), Silvio Dante, Paulie Walnuts, Big Pussy, Artie Bucco, and so on. Names like "Jackie Aprile" and "Hesh" are dropped. There's also one scene that is a direct recreation of a flashback from the series, when Tony saw his father and uncle get arrested.
Plot-wise, there are so many gear-shifts, I couldn't tell where it was going. Which is a very David Chase thing. Young Tony really was just another supporting character; this is an ensemble film built around Dickie, and Nivola makes the most of it. So overall I enjoyed it, I was entertained by it. If you're a Sopranos fan, you'll want to see it. And if you weren't, well, I'd recommend watching a good chunk of the series before settling into this movie.
Side-Note: It didn't make enough to justify a sequel in theaters, but if HBO and Chase want to make more Soprano prequel movies for the network, I'll see those too.
