L'impero del crimine

I couldn't believe that this movie was going to be even somewhat good after looking at the cover of the box. Boy, was I wrong, Mobsters sure did not disappoint me and I think I've seen just about every mafia/mob movie ever made in the last 50 years. I'm not saying this goes up there with Goodfellas and The Godfathers, etc, but it definitely deserves some credit. The acting for the most part is very well-done. There is some good action with a fair amount of bloodshed, great set designs, and a good cast. I'm not sure exactly how historically accurate this movie is, but nevertheless, it pulls through to bring an overall excellent mob flick.

Mobsters casts four young players of the day as four of the legendary gangland figures of the 20th Century in their salad days. Christian Slater, Patrick Dempsey, Richard Grieco, and Costas Mandylor play Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, and Frank Costello respectively. The film is a fictionalized account of how the four of them wound up on top of the gangland heap.

Michael Gambon and Anthony Quinn play the two old style Mobsters who are rivals for the title of boss of all bosses in the New York City area. Playing Charles Ferranzano and Joe Masseria the two of them control most of the illegal liquor trade which gave organized crime in this country it's real foothold. But our young men prove to be tough, smart and resilient as they play off the two old bosses against the middle.

Mobsters as a film captures the ambiance of New York during prohibition very well. I'm not sure I would have cast Christian Slater as Lucky Luciano, still Slater does very well with the part. Richard Grieco as Bugsy Siegel is very good, you can see the genesis of Warren Beatty's character when he played Siegel in his film, Bugsy.

Note should also be mentioned of F. Murray Abraham as Twenties gambler Arnold Rothstein who was the initial sponsor of the young mobsters in training. And Nick Sadler is one frightening Mad Dog Coll. You'll see quite graphically where his nickname came from.

Mobsters is good viewing, not exactly historically accurate, but actually sticks closer to the truth than most films of this type.

Under Charlie "Lucky" Luciano's reign, organised crime met peace for 15 years. This is the story of how he, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Frank Costello, came to sit at the top end of the table after forming "The Commission".

Mobsters, a film that has some where along the line attained an extra part to its title - "The Evil Empire" - is a movie that seems to consistently let down newcomers who venture into it. I'll state right from the off that I very much enjoy the film, but, and it's a big but, I'm fully aware it's hardly a shining light for the gangster genre, or even a deep and detailed historical point of reference of the four boys who grew up to be mob "legends". However, those folk who harp on about the "G" movies by Marty and Francis; using them as a point of reference, should know better, while those venturing first time into it expecting "that" type of gangster movie clearly haven't looked at the facts.

Lets examine said facts. It's directed by Michael Karbelnikoff, who? Exactly. It stars Christian Slater (Luciano), Patrick Dempsey (Lansky), Richard Grieco (Siegel) & Costas Mandylor (Costello). Collectively they were at the time known for what? 21 Jump Street, 80s teen romances and 80s edgy angst. Hardly a roll call of actors about to take the gangster genre to greater heights is it? True, the film does offer hope by having the good pros Michael Gambon & Anthony Quinn as the two waring bosses about to be given a stern life lesson from the young upstarts, but at the time of Mobsters' release Gambon was still a fledgling name and Quinn was doing films like Ghosts Can't Do It & Only The Lonely!

After 1988 had seen the then current Brat Pack of Sheen, Estevez, Sutherland et al take on the Western genre with Young Guns, it was kind of inevitable, given that film's success (and its Slater starring sequel in 1990) that a young spunkier foray into gangster land would follow. And here it is in the fun, violent and semi-fictitious Mobsters. While Young Guns is no Magnificent Seven, and did the same Mobster hating crowd expect that also? So Mobsters is no "G" film either. The young cast work hard and enjoy themselves, with Grieco really looking the part in what was his first film. While F. Murray Abraham, Chris Penn and Lara Flynn-Boyle also feature; even if all are underdeveloped and in the case of Flynn-Boyle, a victim of one of those cheese laden slow-mo sex scenes!

If not expecting something too serious then this is a decent treatment of the legend of Luciano and Meyer etc. Over the top performances (Gambon/Quinn) blend with the watchable (Slater/Dempsey play off), and the manic (Nicholas Sadler as Mad Dog Coll) to leave an entertaining film that really wasn't trying to be one of those "G" films in the first place. 6.5/10

This is one of those guilty pleasure movies for me...it combines elements of the great mob movies with fast paced and hard hitting action. For the most part, the director pulls this one off pretty well, at least for what kind of movie he was trying to direct.

I've been reading a lot of comments stating that this movie can't hold a candle anywhere near Goodfellas or Godfather or even Donnie Brasco (all of which are excellent movies). Well, all I have to say is, NO, REALLY?!? I mean come on, with a cast like Christian Slater, Patrick Dempsey and Richard Grieco, what were you expecting? Another Vito Corleone or Lefty Luggiero? This one is aimed at a younger audience (perhaps teens to mid twenties) and I have to admit, they pull it off rather nicely. What I mean is that the movie, though serious throughout, does not try to be an epic, only a high octane crowd pleaser. The action scenes are bloody and well done, and the sets are lovely. Even the acting is surprisingly good, especially Patrick Dempsey and dare I say, Richard '21 Jump Street' Grieco.

What kills me about this flick is that, though it is an exciting movie and a more than anything else, an effective time killer, the direction cuts from scene to scene getting straight to the point and little else. This seriously detracts from characterization and overall storytelling (I totally agree with other viewers who said that this movie should be at least an hour longer). I mean, at the beginning, we are vaguely introduced to our protagonists, and then five minutes later, they are in their twenties, and have already established themselves as small time crooks. How? Movies like Goodfellas and Once Upon a Time in America are great movies partly b\c they had wonderful scenes of the main characters as children, so we can see their motives when they eventually become mobsters.

This one, like I said, jumps from one scene to another, not wasting a second on dramatic pauses or even characterization. It seriously reminds you of a cookie-cutter Jerry Bruckheimer production, minus the explosions. It does have nice touches here and there of authentic 1920-1930's life and old movies depicting that era which gives the film class (the tunes, the model-T's, the dancers, the neighborhoods and finally, the spinning newspaper headlines) instead of just being another Young Guns meets the Goodfellas. However, as I said, the film's objective, to make a fast paced mafia movie with popular actors suceeds, but it also leads to its biggest downfall of limited characterization. It is hard to feel for (or despise) characters without knowing their background all too well...all we get is, hey Lucky had a hard life, Benny likes to kill people, Don Massaria is fat, the other Don is a bad fella...anyway you catch my drift.

All in all, not a bad film, though it should have been longer. Watch this one only when it's on cable or when you have time to kill, for it is rather visually pleasing and entertaining. Overall, it is a movie that doesn't pretend to be something it's not, it's a decent film with a lot of action and good performances. I give it 7/10 stars.

I must say, I don't really agree with what most other people have to say about this movie. I must admit it has its ups and downs, especially when it comes to the casting. Casting Christian Slater as Lucky Luciano was just ridiculous. He is just so the wrong type. He is a good actor, but this part does not suit him at all! It is a different story for several other people. I must say I was very impressed with the performances of Richard Grieco and Lara Flynn Boyle. Richard clearly shows he can do a lot more than just being the pretty boy. He was probably the best choice for the part. Violent and sensual. He even manages to do a quite funny scene, when his character gets angry, because someone tells him he does not kill with style. I did not know what to expect from him, as I had only seen him in "21 Jump Street", but give him a chance, because he will not disappoint you. Lara Flynn Boyle's performance is wonderful. Too bad her part was so small, as I would have loved to see more of her in this movie. She shows here clearly she can do so much more than cheap comedies. Usually I would give this film 8 out of 10, but because of Richard and Lara, I will make it 9.