The Many Saints Of Newark Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

A (mostly) satisfying prequel to The Sopranos.

The Many Saints of Newark
Warner Bros.

While few would dare call it the big-screen cinematic event of the year, there's certainly been plenty of anticipation for the long-awaited Sopranos prequel film The Many Saints of Newark.

Belated prequels to hit TV shows have an undeniably uneven track record - whether films or "revival" series - and the potential for failure is strong if the responsibility of the new story isn't taken seriously by those involved.

Thankfully that's not at all the case with this two-hour Sopranos post-script (or pre-script, rather?), which lends context to the existing cast of characters while also introducing a number of compelling new ones, and leaving plenty for fans to meditate on after the credits.

Series creator David Chase returns to co-pen the script with Emmy-nominated Sopranos writer Lawrence Konner, and the result is a reverent, largely satisfying return to this world, even if some may feel that, like Breaking Bad's El Camino, it isn't a film that needed to exist.

It won't fully work for everyone, but for the majority of fans keen to dip their toe back in - and have another excuse to rewatch The Sopranos - this absolutely delivers the goods...

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.