Bullet Points: Mafia Wars (2024)
As a lifelong Superman fan, it’s probably no surprise that I was an avid Smallville viewer during its 10 season run. And a big part of my Smallville fandom was thanks to Tom Welling, who was perfect in the Clark Kent role. After Smallville concluded in 2011, I lost track of Tom Welling and his acting career. So when I saw that he was the star of a brand new action movie, 2024’s Mafia Wars… I was more than ready to catch up with him!
- When in Rome: The movie begins with a guy named Matteo with a sack over his head being escorted to a back room at the Rossi compound where he’s about to be interrogated by the enforcer of the Rossi crime family, Griff (Cam Gigandet, Never Back Down). Griff, is a former member of the United States military has earned the nickname of The Reaper. So it is no surprise that Griff’s interrogation methods and reputation intimidate the hell out of Matteo. After Matteo spills the beans about a rogue detective who is looking to take down Rossi and more specifically a huge fentanyl deal that is about to go down… Griff kills Matteo and says he smells more rats in the organization.
- When in Prison: Meanwhile, Griff’s incarcerated brother Jack is in the prison laundry room and about to go face to face with a fellow inmate who is looking to take Jack out. Fortunately for Jack, his cellmate Terry Jacobs (Tom Welling, Smallville) has his back and uses his resourcefulness to eliminate the threat that would have ended Jack’s life. Shortly after the laundry room encounter, something unexpected happens. Terry is being released. On his way out, Jack slips Terry his brother Griff’s number. But why was Terry, who ended up in prison after he was busted for selling drugs, released!?? The answer is the previously mentioned rogue detective, who in this sense is considered a rogue because he is NOT on the Cosa Nostra payroll! Detective Lombardi, not only orchestrated Terry’s release… with help from the prosecutor’s office, got Terry paired up with Jack in the first place… since they knew Griff and Jack only trusted fellow Americans. Lombardi wants Terry to use the relationship and trust he built with Jack on the inside, to get close to Griff on the outside to stop the fentanyl deal. With the promise of a clean record and a chance to return to a family that desperately needs him, Terry can’t say no to Lombardi’s deal.
- Here We Go: With the groundwork laid, the second act of the movie has Terry meeting and doing what he can to win over Griff… who obviously isn’t going to make it easy on Terry. A prostitute on the Rossi payroll named Spinx (Cher Cosenza) ends up becoming a valuable ally to Terry and he needs all the help he can get, especially with Griff being so on edge. And from Griff’s point of view, it makes sense. This is the biggest deal of Griff’s life and he has even bigger plans when it comes to his employer. But Rossi is not oblivious to what is going on right under his nose and he has some plans of his own… it’s like a mafia war could break out as we get into the third act. Throw in a bunch of corrupt cops, the CIA, a trip to the Vatican, and a few twists and turns and it all adds to the Mafia Wars fun!
Mafia Wars was some quality DTV action entertainment! I’ve said it before about a few other movies, but I haven’t said it often… Mafia Wars feels like the type of movie that PM Entertainment would be making in 2024, if PM Entertainment was still a thing.
Getting to see Tom Welling in action again made we wish he had jumped into the action movie genre as soon as Smallville wrapped up. Welling has the physical presence and a likability that is conducive to being a great action movie hero. But Welling was only half of the equation that made Mafia Wars so enjoyable… the rest of the credit has to go to Cam Gigandet, who delivered as the overly ambitious, slightly unhinged and paranoid villain in the movie.
I’ll be a bit ambitious and throw in some Bonus Bullet Points…
- Introducing: Sterling Griffin, who played Griff’s no good brother Jack, got the “and introducing” credit, since Mafia Wars was Sterling’s first feature film.
- Double Duty: Scott Windhauser was the writer and director of Mafia Wars.
- Meta Moment: On their way to the warehouse that is housing enough fentanyl to cover all of Europe, Griff refers to the building as the “Fortress of Solitude”… and also makes a crack that not everyone loves Superman.
- Bastard Count: Corrupt Commander Abruzzo refers to Detective Lombardi as a “bastard” when he finds out Lombardi is working with the prosecutor. It was the one and only “bastard” in Mafia Wars.
