American Mobster: Retribution (2021), directed by Gregory Hatanaka, is a low-budget indie crime thriller that manages to be both captivating and so-bad-it’s-impossible-to-look-away entertaining. Picking up ten years after the first film, it follows Nick Romano (Nino Cimino) as he fights to maintain his place at the top of Miami’s criminal underworld. Murder, betrayal, and violence abound, and the film leans into every exaggerated gangster stereotype imaginable—sometimes awkwardly, sometimes hilariously.
Cimino is the standout here, delivering a surprisingly natural and compelling performance. He embodies Nick with a confident presence that anchors the chaos around him. While many low-budget mob films feel derivative—trying to copy classics like Goodfellas, The Godfather, or The Sopranos—Retribution sidesteps the clichés, setting its story in Miami and letting its own personality shine. There’s a freshness to the approach, and Cimino’s portrayal of Nick Romano feels like a character worth returning to in future installments.
The production itself is a mixed bag. The budget seems heavily front-loaded—Nick’s elaborate birthday party at the start is a visual feast—while later scenes rely on single takes and minimal resources. The result is a rough, sometimes unpolished aesthetic that gives the film a raw indie vibe. The soundtrack is cheesy at times, the editing can drag, and plot holes are abundant, yet these imperfections somehow add to the film’s charm. It’s a movie that’s hard to take entirely seriously, yet impossible to ignore.
Despite its flaws—bad dialogue, over-the-top acting, and occasional technical missteps—there is an undeniable energy to the film. The Miami setting is well-used, and the story builds to a twisty ending that keeps you engaged. For anyone who enjoys gangster films and is willing to embrace the quirks of low-budget filmmaking, American Mobster: Retribution is an entertaining watch. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s sometimes absurd—but it’s also a fascinating indie take on the mob genre with a lead performance that truly shines.
Jessie Hobson