‘The Many Saints of Newark’ brings mixed reviews (Opinion)

I wanted to wait a few weeks before writing about "The Many Saints Of Newark" to give you a chance to see it. Many have very mixed reviews about "The Sopranos" prequel that stars among others Ray Liotta and Michael Gandolfini, whose father James brought Tony Soprano to life so well that it became one of the greatest television shows in history.

That's a lot for a prequel to live up to. Fourteen years have passed since Tony and the family ordered the onion rings at Holsten's Diner in Bloomfield before putting Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" on the table jukebox.

There's a generation of people who were too young when Tony's death scene aired and for those who did not watch the show, it has to be judged as a stand-alone movie. For those who did watch the show and are completely into it, there's no way these "Saints" could have measured up.

I asked my social media and listeners what they thought of it and here's what they thought.

Tom Aiello:
"It was really good. Hey Steve any chance of collaborating on a sopranos animated cartoon. My fiance can't get your theme song out of her head."

Frank Lewis:
"T E R R I B L E! No plot."

Tom Zola:
"Thought it was ok. Not blown away. Nothing will live up to the show."

Justin Morris:
"Was OK, very surprised at ending."

Jim Santore:
"It was a good watch. Cool nostalgia and Easter eggs. But yeah, not blown away or any OMG moments."

Jim Ritchie:
"Totally disappointed. It watched more like a pilot than a stand-alone movie. It wasn't good."

VicDerzu Buenrostro:
"Liked it."

Chris Baselice:
"There needs to be another prequel from where the movie ended and the show began, more of Tony’s young adult life, but it’ll never happen."

Steve Flocco:
"Ehh."

Robert Pisani:
"Typical David Chase leaving you with wanting more with an absurd ending."

Kelley Simcox Thwaite:
"It moved very slow. It would have been ok if it was a series, but as a movie it was way too slow and quite frankly was very disappointing."

Steve Grande:
"I loved it. It was great to see the ballad of Dickie and to see Tony’s idolization of him first hand. The reveal at the end enriches the series and makes you see things in a different light. I’d agree however that this feels like a part one of two. I’d really like to see Tony in his 20s and his rise in the family. I really want to see him become a made guy, witness his first kill, and the legendary card game that puts his name on the map."

Brian Gallagher:
"They definitely set everything up for a trilogy. There wasn’t as many references I thought there was gonna be but my opinion is there definitely going to have more than this movie."

Ryan Maher:
"Was disappointed. Jumped around way too much for me. And I know at least 15 comics that do a better Silvio impersonation!"

Chipps Cooney:
"As of now, the only thing I know about Newark is I was born there."

Mark Shepperd:
"Many friends who have seen it...walked out, saying it was horrible."

Tom Valleras:
"Hot garbage. Contrived and extremely boring. There was very little connection to the Sopranos series outside of the characters appearing and having the same names. Don’t waste 5 minutes on this movie."
Trev: Other than that, how did you really feel?

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise. Any opinions expressed are Steve's own. Steve Trevelise is on New Jersey 101.5 Monday-Thursday from 7pm-11pm. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.