There are three reasons to see “Gotti” with the first being if you are a fan of John Travolta (I am), the second, if you are a fan of John Travolta and the third, is to see a performance rise above the script though as good as it is doesn’t quite save the film.
Upfront let’s just say that the film is not as bad as the critics who have been slamming it say it is or the 0% rating RottenTomatoes or MetaCritics give. “Gotti” reminded me of the many “B” movies that used to be shown on the lower half of double feature bill in movie houses years ago when you saw 2 movies for the price of one. They usually starred James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart blasting away with machine guns.
The main problems with the film are first of all the screenplay which is all over the place as is the soundtrack and the fact that it is based on John Gotti, Junior’s autobiography so one thread shows the love between father and son, the father grooming the son to become the ‘Boss’ while another shows how he became called the Teflon Don and at the same time showing different aspects of the life of a godfather in the mob, condensing all 3 “The Godfather” movies into 110 minutes of one film.
John Travolta shows what the film could have been if it had a good director, a better screenplay and an editor who cared about the final result. He is a good actor and even in some overly made makeup looks his ability comes through but not enough to save the movie!
In a way, it is worth seeing just to watch the cliché scene where one mobster shoots another 5 times and the latter gets up and runs away! Welcome to “B” movies.
Movie trailer
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