The Alto Knights

The creative team behind THE ALTO KNIGHTS reads like a who's who of legendary mob film creators.

Writer Nicholas Pileggi wrote "Goodfellas", "The Casino" two of my all-time favorite mafia flicks.

Director Barry Levinson created"Bugsy" a Vegas set masterpiece.

At the top of the pyramid sits Robert De Niro of "Godfather","Goodfellas" and "Casino" fame, the holy trinity of classic mob movies.

With that lineage, you would think that this film would be another classic. While it's certainly not the disaster that its mega-bomb box office crash would suggest, it's foundation is built on the hook of having De Niro play both of the two main characters.

CGI has created the ability for these two performances by De Niro to interact, to hug, to converse effortlessly in the same space. But to what end?

The story is intriguing.

De Niro stars as Frank Costello AND Vito Genovese, two of New York's most powerful crime bosses. They grew up together on the streets of NYC after immigrating here from Italy. In sparingly used flashbacks, we see Frank and Vito building a business on gambling, prohibition liquor and neighborhood protection.

But most of the film sees the older version of these men.

Frank narrates the film, often talking directly to the screen as he documents his life. Costello is by far the most diplomatic member of the crime duo. He has the patience and long term view of a politician. When Vito is sent to prison for years, Frank's gentler hand builds deep loyalties and a huge business.

When Vito gets out, he wants all his power and business back immediately, ignoring the fact that the world has changed during his absence.

DeNiro carves out two very different men. Vito has the explosive, hair-trigger temperament and paranoia of De Niro's Travis Bickle. Frank has the patriarchal, guiding hand of Michael Corleone. He does a hell of a job creating two very different men, whose lifelong friendship is frayed by the family business.

But I couldn't help wonder during some of his scenes playing against himself, if the film wouldn't have been just as effective, or more focused if Levinson had just cast another actor in one of the roles.

Joe Pesci was born to play Vito Genovese.

The film spans many years, but it's never boring.

As is typical in gangster films, you're introduced to many characters.

Katherine Narducci (The Irishman) is perfectly cast as Anna, a successful club owner who falls for Vito's charms before she discovers the man beneath.

Cosmo Jarvis (Warfare) is haunting as Vito's less than sharp enforcer, Vincent Gigante. He's scary as hell, but is terrified of Vito.

Only Debra Messing (Will & Grace) seems miscast as Frank's longtime wife Bobbie, bringing little to the character and feeling out of place.

Production values are first rate. The film is shot by Dante Spinotti of "Heat" and "LA Confidential" fame, it looks spectacular. Produced by the legendary Irwin Winkler (Rocky, Goodfellas, The Right Stuff) this turned out to be one of his biggest flops, earning $9 million against a $45 million budget.

Warner Bros seemed to smell disaster, barely promoting the film, which seems like a huge mistake in light of the team behind it. Sell it as the next great mob film from the creators of "Goodfellas" and "Casino". They whispered it, no one heard and no one showed up.

I expected a disaster based on the reviews I'd heard.

It's far from that, but doesn't live up the legacy of its creators either.

Maybe audiences would rather see a film about the rise of organized crime than the true story of how it collapsed from it's pinnacle. Frank Costello had a strong hand in it's loss of power and his story is a fascinating one.

THE ALTO KNIGHTS gets a B- thank to two great De Niro performances that dominate the screen. While it can't hold a candle to the last time he played a mobster named Vito, De Niro still delivers, surrounded by Levinson's perfect trappings.