14/13
Unidentified character: Where do you worship?
Synopsis
New York mob boss Dwight “The General” is released from prison after 25 years; Manfredi is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sylvester Stallone’s first major role in a television series. Dwight “The General”; Manfredi: I don’t really go to church. The opening credits sequence shows various photographic and painted images, as well as Oklahoma landmarks, superimposed on the New York landscape: a statue of a Sioux Indian chief named “Touch the Clouds”; wearing a War Bonnet and Bone Choker necklace (breastplate) attached to the Brooklyn Bridge’s Golden Driller statue, which is built on the Statue of Liberty.
Featured on CBS News Sunday Morning: Episode #457 (2022)
In the Manhattan borough of New York City, there are several numbered “Avenues”; which are intersected by smaller numbered streets.. I thought this would be a fun show. We tend to assume that anything Stallone stars in these days is a comedy, and “Tulsa King” has a lot of humor. But Taylor Sheridan isn’t going to just make a simple parody of the mob story and use Stallone as a joke and a stunner.
The characters are genuinely likable
The show has a lot of promise, despite the light-hearted nature of a former big-time mobster forced to make a new start in a new city after a long prison sentence. When a New York mobster finds his way around Tulsa to make his own turf using his “old world” ways, comedy ensues. While it’s not uncommon to root for the “bad guy” as the main character, his straightforwardness and old-world common sense values appeal to those of us looking for something refreshing amidst today’s social nonsense. The irony of the message is that it takes a no-nonsense thug to break through and expose the shallow social hypocrisy.
Stallone delivers a great performance
It’s the same formula that made Yellowstone such a success, and Sheridan knows that’s what many of us want. Before he became a caricature in his later roles that drove the Rocky and Rambo franchises into the ground, his acting and screen presence created those iconic roles. It’s great to see him back on screen in a role that feels perfect to him, and to use a certain cocky persona to give his character and performance depth, not detract from it. Overall, a very entertaining show that I hope will be a great addition to the Paramount+ portfolio.
Check out our Yellowstone review
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