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Somewhere along the way,The Alto Knightsappears to have become afraid of its own story.
Beyond De Niro, the two movies do admittedly share a screenwriter: the great Nicholas Pileggi.
The films got pedigree, and theres certainly value in the concept.
On paper,The Alto Knightsfeels like the kind of serious, genre-inflected drama we could use more of.
But its totally inert.
Everything hurries along with little life or inspiration or involvement.
Here, it comes off as posturing and mimicry.
(Theres a reason all thoseGodfatherinstallments clock in around three hours.)
This is a movie that needs its viewers to be locked in, not adrift and confused.
(They really do feel like they were written for Pesci, too.
Is it possible he was attached at some point?)
How did we get here?
Levinson has certainly made some great films in the past.
But his talent always seemed to lie in character and setting.
And frankly, Levinson isnt any of those things.
(Very few directors are.
)The Alto Knightsis a movie whose ambition has passed.
It feels like the husk of something that might have been great once.
