The Alto Knights (2025)

Two Robert De Niros share one movie, and the strangest thing about The Alto Knights is how little they have to say to each other. De Niro plays Frank Costello, who wants to step away from running the Luciano family, and Vito Genovese, the underboss who is positive the retirement talk is a trick. Barry Levinson directs and Nicholas Pileggi wrote it, and some of the craft is real: actual prosthetics instead of digital de-aging, and a Vito who at least gets to be loud. The problem is that Frank and Vito share the same sour, simmering mood, so the big rivalry plays like one guy squabbling with a mirror. The voiceover keeps explaining scenes that should speak for themselves, and at 123 minutes the talky middle drags. Critics landed at 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it made $10.2 million worldwide on a reported $45 million to $50 million. A 4.1 because the gimmick never grows into a story. $23.74 says you order an espresso this week and sip it like a man who is planning something.

What works: Choosing prosthetics over digital de-aging pays off, and De Niro’s hotheaded Vito is the livelier of his two turns.

What doesn’t: Frank and Vito feel like the same gloomy man, and the constant narration drains energy from scenes that should crackle.

Who it’s for: Mob movie completists who will watch De Niro in anything with a fedora and a grudge.