Saints of Newark

Like almost every tedious guy, I’m a big fan of The Sopranos. Do I think it’s one of the best TV shows of all time? Well, does the Pope eat gabagool?

Actually, I don’t think he does. But for the purpose of this article, you better believe he likes his sliced meats.

Anyway, today (29th of June in the year of our Lord 2021) the trailer for The Many Saints of Newark has been released. Instead of writing about a video game, like Joe politely requested, I’m going to write about this trailer instead.

First up, the trailer shows us that the show is set in Newark. A bit of a spoiler early doors, but I suppose they need to entice the audience with something.

We then hear James Gandolfini talking while we see Michael Gandolfini auditioning to be in a gritty reboot of Bill and Ted. I say we hear James Gandolfini, but it’s actually quite hard to hear him over the horror sounding music being blared at us.

Our first shot of violence also contains our first look at some of the cured meats on offer in the film.

Cut to Tony’s Mom talking to a head teacher in a school. The soundtrack is definitely making me feel that Tony is about to become a school shooter. What a twist!

Up next is Uncle Dick (Dickie Moltisanti - who’s surname also inspires the title of the film). Who is he? Why’s he drinking? Why does anyone called Richard accept people calling them Dick?

Now we have a little mafia montage - family, white vests, smashed windows and gorgeous looking Italians.

Wait! Was that Tony talking about the college he’ll be at for a semester and a half? The fan service is outrageous so far!

More clips of violence, and Ray Liotta absolutely cracking up. He’s probably just seen his paycheck.

More loud music, more violence and a bit of shagging. Tony shot from behind with a group of friends, who we can assume will be the core of The Soprano family. “Where’s Paulie Walnuts?” we all cry.

Suddenly Ray Liotta is bald, and he’s warning Dickie to stay away from his nephew.

The trailer ends with The Music coming in - you know, the one about getting yourself a gun in the morning. It’s good that they remind you about The Sopranos at the end of the trailer for The Sopranos movie, otherwise you might be confused about the last two and a half minutes.

It’s pretty obvious, but the trailer here isn’t for the big fans of the show - it’s for folk who like to watch a mafia film every couple of years. Big fans of the show are either already onboard or they don’t give a fuck about a prequel that doesn’t star James Gandolfini.

For me, I don’t know if a prequel showing Tony’s path to mob boss is really going to be that interesting. While the character has been hailed as complex and deep, he’s just a big greedy boy, coming in the end of a lifestyle that was already more fantasy than reality.