Do you think Netflix did the right thing not allowing a wide release in theaters?

Yes- there is nothing like seeing a film in the theater. I am scrambling to see it in a theatre.

I haven't yet watched it but I think Netflix owe their subscribers less filler then they've been pushing on them.
This, going by the reviews, would qualify as less filler.

I thought the story was that it was the mainstream theaters who not want to exhibit it, as the 3.5 running time scared them. The Irishman showed in a few select theaters around me, but they were not the regular Regal/AMC/Cinemark theater chains but smaller ones...the kinds you have to drive 55 miles just to see.

If I'm understanding correctly, Scorsese was rejected by studios when pitching the film (so he went to Netflix), and then rejected by large theater chains when the movie was completed. Maybe this is why Scorsese sounded off on comic book films in frustration. Longer, thoughtful, serious dramas have a hell of a time surviving these days when up again summer and winter tentpole films.