Two of New York Citys mostnotoriousgangsters meet in a candy shop to hash out their differences. Their relationship goes backdecades; the men rose through the ranks of the criminal underworld together. Then one of the men, hot-headed Vito Genovese, had to flee the country toavoida murder charge, leaving the other, diplomatic Frank Costello, as their organizations acting boss. When Genovese returns, he wantsto be made whole for all the financial opportunities he missed while he was gone. But no matterhow Costello tries to appease Genovese, its never enough.So they meet in thecandy shop to settle the matter. They exchange pleasantries. They talk about the old days. Their bond is so strong, the two are practically brothers.Only in the new movie about Costello and Genevese,The Alto Knights,they seem more like twins because both are played by Robert De Niro under two different wigs and accents.Why? I have no idea.Its one thing to cast oneactor as a pair of siblings, or clones, or even a father and a son at similar ages. Here De Niro plays two different men who are not related.That distracting choice adds nothingtoThe Alto Knights, except perhaps a marketing hook, because Warner Bros. can advertise the film as the chance to see Robert De Niro go toe to toe with Robert De Niro.Warner Bros.Warner Bros.loading...Although the choice to cast De Niro twice remains a baffling one, it must be said that on a technical level, their scenes together look convincing. When the men are apart (which is most of the film), De Nirois perfectly serviceable in both roles, even if the script (by mobmovie legend Nicholas Pileggi ofGoodfellas andCasino fame) remains oddly uninterested in Costelloand Genoveses respective psychologies. By the time the moviepicks up their story in the late 1940s,they are entrenched in their respective roleswithin the Mafia hierarchy; Costello as the genteel dealmaker with political connections, and Genovese as the seething firebrand looking to avenge an endless parade of grievances. (In another time and place, Joe Pesci would have played Genovese to De Niros Costello and in fact, with his high-pitched motor-mouthed delivery, De Niro almost seems to be doing a Pesci impression as Genovese.)AlthoughThe Alto Knights starts in 1957 and thenflashes back in time from there, the relationship between the two (oddly similar looking)protagonistsis fairly obvious and uncomplicated right from the jump: Genovese envies Costellos wealth and position, and hates the way hetries to comport himself as a legitimate businessman. Costello knows Genovese reckless behavior could destroy his empire, but his loyalty to his friend, and his belief in the Mafias strict code of conduct,keepshim from taking action against him.So Genovese keeps lashing out at Costello after that doomed candy shop encounter,culminating in a failed assassination attempt that serves asThe Alto Knights opening scene.THE ALTO KNIGHTSWarner Bros. Picturesloading...Casting De Niro as both of these infamous criminals invites the audience to draw parallels between them. I suppose if you want to look at Costello and Genovese very closely, there are some connections you can draw. Each wasmarried, for example,their scenes with their respective spouses serve to underscore their differing temperaments and neuroses. Costello is devoted to Bobbie (Debra Messing), and spends most of his nights at home with her in front of their television.But the bubbling tension between the two De Niros (De Niros? Des Niro?) never rises beyond the level of a very slow simmer. After the violent opening scene,The Alto Knightsnext hour and ten minutesis all backstory narrated by Costello as an old man which is another curious choice in a film filled with them, since it means that more than half of the movieis little more than ploddingexposition abouta central conflict whose eventual winner is all but obvious right from the beginning. By the time the movie finally returns to the late 1950s, Costello and Genoveses battle is all but over, and their feud culminates in a truly anticlimactic (and historically dubious) sequence.Warner Bros.Warner Bros.loading...When all is said and done,The Alto Knights imparts very little about these two men that couldnt be gleaned by reading their respective Wikipedia pages, and it does it at a sluggish pace and with little visual flair. Some of the biggest and best names to ever work in gangster movies contributed to this film; De Niro and Pileggi, obviously, but also producer Irwin Winkler and director Barry Levinson.Despite their many contributions to this genre in the past, theyve got nothing new to say here.Andthey providezero evidence that casting De Niro in both lead roles is anything more than a gimmick.RATING: 4/10Get our free mobile appThe 10 Worst Movies of the Last Ten Years (2015-2024)Look, lets not beat around the bush. These movies stink.Filed Under: Barry Levinson, Robert De Niro, The Alto KnightsCategories: Movie News, Movie Reviews