Robert De Niro has starred in some of the greatest Mafia movies of all time. One of his earliest roles in the genre was in 1973’s Mean Streets, his first collaboration with Martin Scorsese, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest gangster films ever made. The following year, Robert De Niro portrayed a young Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II, a performance that earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor – his first of eight Oscar nominations throughout his distinguished career.

Over the years, De Niro has teamed up with Scorsese on several other iconic mob movies, including Goodfellas and Casino, both co-written by Nicholas Pileggi based on his nonfiction books. Goodfellas is especially regarded as one of the greatest gangster films ever made. His other notable contributions to the genre include starring in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables, A Bronx Tale (which De Niro also directed), and reuniting with Scorsese for The Irishman ​​​​​​in 2019. However, De Niro’s new Mafia movie has been a critical and commercial disaster.

The Alto Knights Has Critics & Audiences Divided On Rotten Tomatoes

Robert De Niro’s New Mafia Movie Released On March 21

The Alto Knights is dividing critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by the Oscar-winning Barry Levinson and penned by Pileggi, the new movie stars De Niro in a dual role as 1950s Mafia bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello and chronicles the conflict that erupts after the former orders a failed hit on the latter. The Alto Knights cast also includes Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, Kathrine Narducci, Michael Rispoli, James Ciccone, and Matt Servitto in supporting roles.

Now, following its theatrical release on March 21, De Niro’s new Mafia movie is dividing critics and audiences. The Alto Knights has a 38% score from critics coupled with a 70% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie has 101 reviews and 250+ verified ratings at the time of writing, so those scores are subject to change over time.

What The Alto Knights’ Rotten Tomatoes Scores Mean For The Movie

What Are Critics & Audiences Saying?

The Alto Knights has received largely negative reviews from critics, who consider it a competent but tired rehash of mob movie clichés. For instance, in ScreenRant‘s review of The Alto Knights, Mary Kessel writes, “If you’re looking for Robert De Niro’s next great role, this tired gangster movie is sure to disappoint… Fans of De Niro and the gangster movie will have fun with this addition to the genre, but they won’t find anything new in its well-tread story.”

Audiences apparently feel differently about The Alto Knights, with many of the user-submitted reviews on Rotten Tomatoes praising De Niro’s dual performance, the film’s historical accuracy, and engaging storytelling. However, some still found the pacing to be slow, De Niro’s dual role distracting, and the plot lacking direction. While the audience reception has been better than critics, it’s not like audiences are showing up for The Alto Knights, as the movie made only $3 million in its opening weekend against its $50 million budget, one of the most disastrous debuts of 2025 so far.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes