Get Gotti: Le parrain doit tomber

I assume you did ... as did I ... and I will stick to my no pun intended saying, claiming my innocence ... speaking of which: this brings us to Gotti ... who got acquitted a lot ... as in Jurys not finding him guilty for obvious crimes ... how that happened? Well this show is here to give us an insight to the rise and eventual fall of Gotti (everyone gets a reality check sooner or later).

The romanticizing of the Mafia and mobsters is quite common ... I reckon movies and other media outlets had a hand to play in that. If you see someone like Gotti (even my mom was like "he is so well dressed") ... there is a connection you want to build. Well this will be a deconstruction of that as much as possible.

Great interviews with surviving members - from both sides ... and a great look into what happened and how Gotti got away with so much stuff for so long ... which made him think he is invincible apparently ... kind of like Denzels character in Training Day, even though he obviously portrayed a cop ... if you are into docu series ... this is quite a good one.

Most of this portrayed Gotti as a fashion model instead of what he really was: an uneducated half-wit and murderous thug. He had a man tortured and murdered because Gotti's idiot son was killed riding a moped in the streets. The mafia are nothing more than bullies who gang up on individuals. They are jackals who produce nothing and live off of the sweat of others.

Most of the people in this series had nothing but good to say about the creep, even some of the law enforcement types. Why would an FBI agent congratulate Gotti after one of his acquittals? The news people covering the cases were equally as obsequious and heavy with praise for this low-life.

Overall, this was poorly done and adds nothing new to the story.

The whole Gotti story is completely overdone so I'm surprised this series even got commissioned, although it was a good watch in that it gave you the perspectives of people who'd also been there at the height of his power not just some grey FBI agents. Yes, that Mouw guy is still there, dining off his contribution, but a fair amount of the interviewees are from a range of backgrounds - his associates all still revel in the age of course, like it was the pinnacle of their lives - that Giovino woman especially almost can't get over her dalliance with fame and power.

The programme's main takeaway is that law enforcement seem idiotic as most of them were in direct competition to arrest the man himself instead of cooperating with each other. They overlook some of his more heinous crimes too, focusing mostly on the Castellano hit (not what he did to his poor neighbour John Favara). Also the prosecutor Giacalone comes out of this looking awful: she sent jurors home in limos (so they could be tailed and paid off) and later exposed an FBI informant who was then killed....totally incompetent and it's no wonder Gotti stayed free for so long.

It's mostly a nostalgic look back for a lot of these ex-wiseguys and agents, to a time when they were important, on both sides of the law. You almost can't believe this sort of criminal organisation was allowed to exist so brazenly back then now you look back at it. But overall RIP to all his victims, this guy was no hero.

Gotti's crew want to be in his favor. Law enforcement want the prestige of being the ones who catch him. Prosecutors want the prestige of being the ones who convict him. Reporters want the prestige of being the ones invited to his parties - more concerned with being seen with him than covering him.

Everyone in the documentary seems to gleefully tell everyone how they were connected to him, whether they were for or against him. The filmmakers could've done more to explain how bad Gotti was. How mob members, neighborhood residents, law enforcement and the legal system were all in a cult-like infatuation with him. Instead it seems they're in the cult, too. It's almost a glorification of the guy.

The end result is you fell like you're watching people talk about that time they once met the cousin of Elvis Presley's barber's dog sitter.

Paul Castellano, the infamous head of The Gambino family is killed, waiting in the wings is his protégé John Gotti, who's keen to climb to the top, and keen for a celebrity status.

This really is a no holds barred look at the incredible story of John Gotti, from his rise, his celebrity, becoming the Teflon Don, and his eventual demise.

It's a fascinating watch, there are some incredible interviews, jaw dropping insights, and several moments where you'll almost struggle to believe what you are watching.

I'm glad Netflix decided to make it a three part series, and no longer, it never feels over long or dull, it's very punchy.

What struck me most was the lack of cooperation between the various strands of The Authorities, it seemed they each wanted the glory, surely he'd have been convicted a lot sooner had they worked together.

8/10.