North From Here wrotetraptunderice wroteStarted Boardwalk Empire two weeks ago. I kinda enjoy it, even if it is kinda everything you'd expect and a tad paint by numbers. Just finished season 3 which was rather exciting.
I don't like how much the show diverges from Mafia history (which I love). It seemed like they wanted to tell the story of the Mob's rise through the 20s as a backdrop with this overblown Nucky Thompson (Enoch Johnson) character whose importance was grossly overstated. Either tell the story of Thompson and A.C. or tell the story of the Mob in NYC. The Chicago angle wastes time with Capone (even though the actor is tremendous). The whole point of Chicago is to witness the violence Jonny Torrio witnesses so when he comes to NYC and talks to Luciano it will make sense.The idea that Nucky Thompson could go to war with Joe Masseria and win was embarrassing. They make Luciano look like a hotheaded idiot at times, and again feed the myth that he depended on Lansky. Gyp Rosetti was a typical HBO caricature villain, just imagine Joffrey Baratheon as an adult Italian mobster!All that said, the show was enjoyable in places. :lol: Of course Omar was fun in another role, the actor playing Rothstein was tremendous. And at least we got some mafia origins history, which always earns points from me.
Having not finished the series yet, most of the historical mobsters all seem kinda wasted. Al Capone is decent, and I loved him as Tommy in Snatch. Luciano, Rothstein, and Masseria all seem kinda just awkward foils thus far. I felt like Gyp Rosetti actually gave the show a direction in a way that I appreciated. I'm not dumb, but names circulate in a way that there are some characters whose names I still don't know and that is frustrating. Like I have no idea who he is doing this Florida deal with and the fourth season starting off with Eli's kid in college seems pointless. They have built up this Nucky Thompson character only to take the focus off of him, which is kinda irking me.
