Underbelly lives on with Fat Tony

Tony Mokbel is said to be Australia's richest gangster and then became Australia's most wanted man.

UNDERBELLY sequel Fat Tony and Co picks up precisely where you'd expect: with a topless stripper gyrating wildly as Vince Colosimo channels Al Pacino in a monologue.

Constant nudity is of course one of the franchise's contractual obligations, along with violence, Melbourne streetscapes and slow-mo shots set to a rocking soundtrack.

But while the form is the same - and with most of the original actors and creative team back on board - does Fat Tony and Co live up to the high standards of the 2008 smash hit series?

The cast of the new true crime drama Fat Tony and Co. Picture: Channel Nine. Source: Supplied

The answer is yes and no. The acting, writing and direction of the two part premiere is top notch, it's a stylishly made true crime drama that many will feel puts recent instalments like Underbelly Razor and Squizzy in the shade.

But it doesn't quite have the same blend of magic as the original - the same visceral fascination, visual flair or humour. (It also has a different title and is based on different source material, though that's reportedly as much to do with accessing tax concessions as creative considerations.) The nine part series traces Mokbel's (Robert Mammone) rise from small time dealer and pizza maker to kingpin of a $140 million drug empire and his eventual wigged-out arrest in Greece.

Robert Mammone in character as Tony Mokbel in Fat Tony and Co. Picture: Channel Nine Source: Supplied

(It's only fitting the sequel focuses on Mokbel, whose trial and subsequent court injunction was a major reason Underbelly wasn't able to screen in full in Victoria until 2011.)

One of the driving forces of the story is the conflict between Mokbel's close associate and gangland serial killer Carl Williams (Gyton Grantley returning to his AFI and Logie winning role) and the volatile, aggressive Carlton Crew - the Morans (Kevin Harrington, Les Hill and Jake Ryan), Graham "the Munster" Kinniburgh (Gerard Kennedy) and Alphonse Gangitano (Vince Colosimo).

Back as Carl Williams ... Gyton Grantley in Fat Tony and Co. Picture: Channel Nine Source: Supplied

While the gangland war would claim more than thirty lives, aided and abbetted by police corruption, Mokbel himself is painted as a breed apart, an astute businessman, more interested in making money and developing buildings than cracking heads.

Returning to the screen ... Vince Colosimo plays Alphonse Gangitano. Picture: Channel Nine Source: Supplied

"You're no gangster" Gangitano goads him at one point. Although Mokbel does take up the odd baseball bat in anger, there's the sense it's to keep up appearances, rather than any genuine desire for violence. If the makers can continue to draw out Mokbel's contradictory motivations, between a business/family man and drug lord, he could become a fascinating character.

Madeline West gives a standout performance as his sophisticated, intelligent and feisty girlfriend Danielle "Pill Press Queen" McGuire, with the two sharing genuine on screen chemistry.

Fat Tony and Co star Madeleine West who plays Danielle McGuire. Picture: Channel Nine Source: Supplied

But fans will be dismayed to learn Colosimo's celebrated portrayal of the charismatic, but violent and menacing Gangitano gets even less screen time than in the original - with his demise coming earlier in the piece and for significantly different reasons, suggesting Fat Tony isn't a straight sequel after all.

While Grantley doesn't feature heavily in the premiere, his baby faced serial killer is more threatening and less of a doofus this time around, particularly when he draws a gun on heavily pregnant wife Roberta, played by Hollie Andrew (who's convincing and looks the part, but lacks Kat Stewart's star quality).

Hollie Andrew stars as Roberta Williams in Fat Tony and Co. Picture: Channel Nine Source: Supplied

Where the premiere does fall down slightly is in the police investigation, which is more plod than plot and gives three fine actors - Shane Jacobson, Steven Curry and Richard Cawthorne - little to do except look sober and taciturn. And the writers really miss a trick with police informant Billy, who risks his life wearing a wire in an attempt to entrap Mokbel without any real pay-off in terms of excitement or danger.

But the few flaws are outweighed by the positives. The plot moves quickly as hatreds harden and the bodies pile up, and anyone with a passing interest in the real life tale - which is pretty much most of Melbourne - should find it absorbing viewing.

*Fat Tony and Co is screening soon on Channel 9.

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