Mobsters (1991)

Let's be realistic.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Christian Slater stars as Lucky Luciano, a prominent mob figure in the Prohibition Era who rose to power early on as a member of a group of four who did things their own way, and whenever they felt the need to get it done.This film was produced in a way that made Lucky and his friends, including Meyer Lansky (played by Patrick Dempsey) and Bugsy Siegal (Richard Grieco), look like products of their environments. Slater's father was roused by one of the local Dons in his house right in front of his family, along with his mother getting a little "attention" as well. The event stayed with Slater's character throughout his life as he set the old man up for retribution. Although based on actual events, I feel this movie fails in one area in that it glamorizes the era. Prohibition meant no booze and that's where this group first got their start, in supplying illegal liquor to these nightclubs.Although a fan of both lead actors and liking the chemistry between the two, this movie did have its own shortcomings, and I found myself wondering when the movie would be over. It was somewhat disappointing to me, considering I've waited over seventeen years to see this film.5 out of 10 stars!

Poor Christian Slater! He tries hard, but the script sucks and he's got a supporting cast that ranges from insufferably dull (Richard Grieco) to manic scenechomper (Michael Gambon & Anthony Quinn, frantically vying with each other to see who can eat the most scenery in the least amount of time).The good: The cast, particularly Costas Mandylor, looks damned fine in the period suits. Also, Patrick Dempsey would eventually grow into his voice, face, and body and join the cast of "Grey's Anatomy." Unfortunately, this movie took place many years before that would happen. Christian Slater is not awful in this film.The bad: Lara Flynn Boyle, the general dialogue, the editing, Richard Grieco (in his "Booker" days, I was a fan!), the script, the story.The hilarious: Occasionally, Anthony Quinn. In addition to eating scenery, he was rarely in a scene in which he wasn't eating a meal, having a snack, gnawing on a table leg ... at one point I thought he'd start gnawing on Slater's shoulder, just to have something to chew on.Rent "The Godfather" if you want to see a great film. This is what a film SHOULDN'T be.

I'm sorry, I really tried to like this movie but it just was rather pointless.Yes, it's the dramatization of the real-life rise to power of some of the most successful criminals in US history, however, the writers seemed to want to cram as much of their lives into as little time as possible. For instance, in one scene we see Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky in a car that is then shot at by a hit-man. 5-10 minutes later in the film, they are all sitting in a room, talking about this incident with the hit-man...obviously some great deal of time has passed but this was a little confusing at first.Perhaps if they had stretched the movie out another hour or so, they could have built up the characters some more, including the villains. When Christian Slater has his friends throw the don out the window, he says it is revenge for ruining his father. The ruining of his father took oh about 45 seconds of screen-time at the very beginning of the film.I suppose the point is that there was no point to this film. It tried to show the intrigue of the organized crime gangs of the 20's and 30's and it tried to portray the rise of Bugsy Siegel, Lansky, Costello, and Luciano as well as be an action/drama/love story. It came up flat in all areas.Christian Slater...his fake accent was pretty annoying as well. Luciano was born in Sicili and would not have spoken with such an accent anyway.The Godfather, this was not. Goodfellas, this was not. I like movies about the Mafia like anyone else but this was just weak.

An extremely disappointing gangster film about legendary heavies "Lucky" Luciano, "Bugsy" Siegel, Frank Costello and Meyer Lansky. It seems director Karbelnikoff had no idea what he was doing when he put this film together. "Mobsters" has none of the power and intrigue that made films such as "The Godfather" and "The Untouchables" so enjoyable.The casting is awful. Christian Slater is no gangster (his performance did not help) and Richard Grieco is no Jew. Patrick Dempsey is the only likable, and slightly believable character.PS No effective music either ("Miller's Crossing"). This film had nothing.Saturday, January 25, 1992 - Greater Union Melbourne