The Alto Knights

"The Alto Knights arrives in theaters with an intriguing behind-the-scenes story: the script by Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas, The Irishman) spent decades shelved before finally being brought to life under the direction of Barry Levinson—marking the first project overseen by executive David Zaslav at Warner Bros. Discovery. The film, which portrays the clash between two mobsters, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, both played by Robert De Niro, suffers from an outdated tone and a rigid narrative structure. De Niro is the film’s highlight, delivering distinct performances for each character, even though the script insists on exploring the origins of their conflict rather than focusing on its more compelling climax. Additionally, the fragmented storytelling and didactic narration slow the film’s pace, making it feel like a collage of ideas already explored in previous crime films. In the end, while the movie may still excite fans of mafia cinema and Pileggi’s stories, its troubled production history proves to be more fascinating than the film itself."