Critical response
In Variety , Peter Debruge wrote: "Though there’s no shortage of whackings and other spectacular moments unfolding before DP Dante Spinotti’s cameras, the tone of The Alto Knights is decidedly less glamorous than your typical gangster movie. ... Unlike The Irishman , which unconvincingly de-aged its cast via distracting CGI, this film relies on prosthetics and makeup to transform De Niro as needed. That approach works better, interfering less with the maestro’s performance(s), while sleight of hand allows the actor to appear opposite himself in a handful of scenes. If there was any doubt as to De Niro’s greatness, it’s laid to rest in these face-to-face confrontations. No star could’ve held his own quite so effectively against De Niro. These surreal staring matches reach beyond the two characters, encompassing the full range of a filmography from which there seems to be no retirement, just bold late-career risks from a professional gambler." [23]
For Empire , Laura Venning gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "It all feels like handsomely crafted Scorsese -lite, but enjoyably so, like sinking into a shabby but much-loved armchair. ... De Niro puts in a typically solid, commanding performance as big boss Frank but is clearly having more fun chewing the scenery beneath layers of prosthetics as the volatile Vito, ... Occasionally clunky and retrograde but in the same manner as a story told by a grandparent, The Alto Knights reminds us that De Niro will always be cinema’s greatest gangster." [24]
Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian gave 2/5 stars, writing: "As Vito, De Niro is gloweringly resentful, taciturn, bad-tempered and wears glasses and a hat. As Frank, De Niro is gloweringly resentful, taciturn, slightly less bad-tempered and doesn’t wear glasses or a hat. ... There is a kind of solidity and force to the film in its opening act, but its interest dwindles and we get little in the way of either ambition or moment-by-moment humour." [25]
Wendy Ide in The Observer gave 2/5 stars, writing: "Levinson hit on the bafflingly ill-advised idea of casting Robert De Niro in both of the two lead roles of Frank and Vito. Which, while it does make the picture distinctive, unfortunately doesn’t make it good. A meandering Goodfellas -style narration, growled to camera by Frank, fails to boost the film’s flagging energy, and since De Niro’s approach is to deliver two very slightly different but equally hammy performances, the whole dual-role gimmick is more distracting than interesting. Still, if you must watch it, you can at least amuse yourself by spotting the join where De Niro-as-Frank’s fake nose is glued on." [26]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 39% of 87 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10.The website's consensus reads: "A competent but tired retread of mob movie tropes, The Alto Knights pits De Niro vs. De Niro with no real victor emerging." [27] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 46 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported that 44% of filmgoers would "definitely recommend" it. [4]
