The Last Don

A powerful crime family wants a future in legitimate business without surrendering the methods that made it powerful. The Last Don, adapted from Mario Puzo's novel, builds its drama around the difficulty of making that transition.

Danny Aiello gives the family patriarch the weight the part needs. Around him, personal ambitions complicate plans that depend on loyalty, discretion and people accepting the places they have been assigned. The entertainment and gambling worlds provide opportunities without offering a clean escape from the family's obligations.

The style is that of a broad television crime saga rather than the intimate, everyday observation of The Sopranos. That distinction is useful going in. This is a choice for family rivalries, favours and long-standing grievances, with the appeal of watching an elaborate plan encounter the people expected to carry it out.