‘Alto Knights’ Should Be Whacked by Audiences

You couldn’t ask for a better team to revive the gangster genre.

Director Barry Levinson gave us 1991’s “Bugsy.” Scribe Nicholas Pileggi co-wrote 1990’s “Goodfellas.” And Robert De Niro, well, ‘nuff said.

The trio unite for “The Alto Knights,” a film that works best as a reminder to re-watch “Bugsy,” “Goodfellas” or any pre-“Fockers” De Niro flick.

Even “The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle.”

The drama, based on true events, makes one cataclysmic mistake before the film even opens. That casting choice may have ruined “Alto Knights” on its own, but don’t leave the atrocious screenplay out.

It’s equally at fault for making “Knights” a surefire Worst of 2025 nominee.

De Niro plays Frank Costello, a crime boss who never carries a gun and avoids the seedier side of his profession. It served him well through the years, but his quiet rivalry with childhood chum Vito Genovese (De Niro, again) threatens that uneasy peace.

Wait … De Niro is playing BOTH leads? Are the characters twins? No. Are they brothers. Nope.

So … why? Sit through “The Alto Knights” and you won’t find the answer.

It’s a distraction the film can’t shake, but it ends up being just one of many sins committed over two brutal hours.

The film’s early moments feature an exposition dump combined with Levinson’s busy visual choices. We’re bludgeoned by black and white photographs, bumpy camera work and flashbacks to ’50s era stock footage.

It’s unnecessary and leaves us feeling woozy, not engaged.

The film’s chronological spasms aren’t helpful, either. De Niro’s Frank Costello serves as a chatty narrator, suggesting the film underwent sizable edits and needed something to stitch the narrative back into place.

It doesn’t always work, leaving a choppy film with odd story gaps. Consider Vito’s wife (“Sopranos” alum Kathrine Narducci), who goes from an adoring spouse to his enemy without scenes depicting her transition.

“Jarring” barely describes it.

Pileggi’s screenplay keeps telling us how to feel and what to think, violating the number one saw in the businss.

Show, don’t tell. Even worse?

Core themes and character traits are similarly repeated without much in the way of depth or development. It seems impossible to defang a real-life mobster rivalry, but Levinson is sadly up to the task. 

The film’s credible production values offers some relief, and a few cultural touches suggest the creative team understands gangster culture.

Beyond that, we’re left watching two De Niros struggle to make the connection between the dueling mobsters. We’re told they’re lifelong friends with diverging views of the “business.” What we see are two old men with little in common beyond the occasional, “back in the old days” banter.

At times, “The Alto Knights” serves as a cautionary tale tied to the American dream, but even that subtext gets lost early on and never recovers.

Robert De Niro reflects on the first time he read the script for new mob movie The Alto Knights, as well as taking on dual roles #TheAltoKnights pic.twitter.com/4MISJpKvkO

— Total Film (@totalfilm) March 19, 2025

Debra Messing affects a fun New Yawk accent as Frank’s wife, but she isn’t given enough to do and rarely fleshes out their complicated marriage. She’s desperate to lure him out of the gangster business, but he’s too disinterested to make it happen.

Yes, just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in. But couldn’t Frank at least burn some calories toward that end?

Secondary characters add color but little depth.

Fellow “Sopranos” alum Michael Rispoli gives the film a familiar patina, but comparing “Knights” to the HBO classic series is never flattering.

The same can be said of gangster classics like “Goodfellas” or “The Godfather.” The team behind “The Alto Knights” knew the risks of revisiting the mob genre. The key players stepped on virtually every rake in their path.

HiT or Miss: “The Alto Knights” begins with a terrible casting decision and only grows worse from there.

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