Godfather of Harlem

Godfather of Harlem is so much better than I expected it to be. First of all, the cast is incredible...Forest Whitaker, Vincent D'Onofrio, Giancarlo Esposito, Nigel Thatch, etc. Are all perfectly cast. It sticks to the truth more than most shows and makes every episode exciting. This show will keep you wanting more until before you know it you binged the entire series. I can't wait for more!

This series is great, one of the best! It is so realistic that you almost live in it. Gigante and Bumpy ( D'Onofrio and Whitaker) are absolutely fantastic, what a bunch of actors, not to mention the rest of the actors, who are many, absolutely wonderful.!!!

It's not just about two enemy gangs, the mafia, drugs and Harlem, it's much more than that. The story is very well detailed, full of political history based on true events, you learn a lot. The political part is not boring since it is explained in a simple way so that everyone can understand it. Nothing complicated. The costumes, the cars, the atmosphere of the 60s, everything perfectly measured, wonderful...!

The combination of real images in black and white is a true wonder!

The political messages, the tension, the action, the dialogues... everything is of great quality in my opinion.

I don't give it a ten simply because of the choice of music. There is soooo much good music from the 60's that I don't understand the choice. Please next time more jazz, soul, gospel... there is so much good musical history in Harlem!

Crime drama genre aficionados will dig Godfather of Harlem's groove with Forest Whitaker at the helm as Bumpy Johnson, a convict recently released from Alcatraz penitentiary off an 11 year beef into a strange new Harlem that he doesn't recognize: Italian's dominate what used to be African American-owned territory and the police are more intolerable, violent, and complicit in the drug trade than ever before.

The cast for Godfather of Harlem is spectacular. Forest Whitaker as Bumpy Johnson is flawless, while Vincent D'nofrio as his rival Italian capo conjures up imagery of Tony Soprano in a past life. Both men are titans on the screen.

Unfortunately, that's where the best things about Godfather of Harlem end. The story, while based on real people and places, is incredibly cliche. There's nothing in Godfather of Harlem that you haven't seen, heard or thought of before -- from the stale bigoted vocabulary that nearly every character employs in their dialogue , to the tried-and-true racist tropes that litter the story ... Godfather of Harlem ultimately feels like a caricature parody of a crime drama than an actual serious entry into the genre.

It's definitely worth watching, just don't expect your mind to be blown in the same way that shows like The Wire or The Shield captivated us. If you're looking for an excellent black-centric crime saga to start watching, give FX's "Snowfall" a shot instead. Godfather of Harlem feels too infantile in its development right now to be taken seriously as a contender -- give it a season or two to flesh itself out before engaging yourself with Bumpy Johnson's world. The makings of greatness are there screaming at us loud and clear, let's just hope the people writing the script step it up with more mellifluous and less-cliched dialogue and give us entertainment worthy of the Epic moniker the show's home network is named after.

Definitely keep your eye on this cinematic universe though. Whitaker and D'nofrio are just too amazing to ignore.

This will become a classic. If you like the genre, you will love it, if not, give it some time. After all, it is based on a real character. Real life, takes time to take shape.

I'm blown away by how good Godfather of Harlem was. I was expecting some cheap knockoff of a show but it's not. This is so well down. You can tell the amount of time and effort they put into every aspect of the show by the attention to detail in everything. The cast is amazing and led by two of the most underrated actors in Hollywood in Forrest Whittaker and Vincent D'Onofrio. It's about the story of Bumpy Johnson (Whitaker), a gangster who makes his way up through to the top of the mob world in Harlem during the 1960's after he returns from a 10-year prison term.. It just got renewed for another season and I can't wait for more!