Maybe with Brian De Palma directing Al Pacino once again, my expectations were too high. Carlito's Way is not a bad film. It's filled with many memorable scenes and characters, but ultimately it just can't pull them all together.
Al Pacino plays Carlito Brigante. He's a mid-level Puerto Rican crime lord who has just been released from jail after serving only five years of a thirty-year sentence. Apparently a technicality and Carlito's brilliantly slimy lawyer (Sean Penn) have set him free early. Carlito sets out to raise $75,000 and move to Jamaica so he can buy his way into the car rental business. Yes, he plans on going legit. His slimy lawyer basically laughs in his face when he hears Carlito's plan. How can a man with such a violent past ever go legit, asks the conventional wisdom on the street. Carlito isn't out of jail more than a day or two before he's already involved in a violent shoot out and running a seedy nightclub for the money he needs. He tries his hardest, but it's no use. Not only does he have trouble avoiding his violent tendencies, but he's surrounded by thugs and low-life's (his lawyer in particular) that constantly bring him down. He hooks up with an old flame and asks her to come with him when he leaves the city. Of course she says yes, but with everyone after Carlito by the end of the film, will they make it out of New York alive? Unfortunately, that question is answered in the first five minutes of this film. Why the hell did they do this? Well, sometimes that technique works. Casino and Fight Club come to mind. But here.... I don't like it. That conclusion would have been a hell of a lot more convincing had we not seen it happen so soon. The film plays itself out fairly well to get us back to what we've already seen, but I just wish the film could have started out in the courtroom.
Pacino is good, but not great. His accent needed a little work, and it comes and goes. Of course, he is talented enough to make any performance more than watchable. I'll lay it right on the line... Sean Penn walks away with this film. His scumbag lawyer character is one of the most unsavory creeps I've seen in a film in a long time. Penn's character is the embodiment of nearly everything that can be wrong with a person. He seems to revel in his character's sleaziness. Most of supporting actors are also very good. John Leguizamo shows definite promise in one of his earliest roles.
Overall, it just wasn't as good as I'd hoped. The film shoots itself in the foot by showing the ending at the beginning. And also, there are way too many references to other De Palma films in this one. It's like every ten minutes he has to remind you of all the other films he's done.
6 of 10 stars.
The Hound.
Al Pacino plays Carlito Brigante. He's a mid-level Puerto Rican crime lord who has just been released from jail after serving only five years of a thirty-year sentence. Apparently a technicality and Carlito's brilliantly slimy lawyer (Sean Penn) have set him free early. Carlito sets out to raise $75,000 and move to Jamaica so he can buy his way into the car rental business. Yes, he plans on going legit. His slimy lawyer basically laughs in his face when he hears Carlito's plan. How can a man with such a violent past ever go legit, asks the conventional wisdom on the street. Carlito isn't out of jail more than a day or two before he's already involved in a violent shoot out and running a seedy nightclub for the money he needs. He tries his hardest, but it's no use. Not only does he have trouble avoiding his violent tendencies, but he's surrounded by thugs and low-life's (his lawyer in particular) that constantly bring him down. He hooks up with an old flame and asks her to come with him when he leaves the city. Of course she says yes, but with everyone after Carlito by the end of the film, will they make it out of New York alive? Unfortunately, that question is answered in the first five minutes of this film. Why the hell did they do this? Well, sometimes that technique works. Casino and Fight Club come to mind. But here.... I don't like it. That conclusion would have been a hell of a lot more convincing had we not seen it happen so soon. The film plays itself out fairly well to get us back to what we've already seen, but I just wish the film could have started out in the courtroom.
Pacino is good, but not great. His accent needed a little work, and it comes and goes. Of course, he is talented enough to make any performance more than watchable. I'll lay it right on the line... Sean Penn walks away with this film. His scumbag lawyer character is one of the most unsavory creeps I've seen in a film in a long time. Penn's character is the embodiment of nearly everything that can be wrong with a person. He seems to revel in his character's sleaziness. Most of supporting actors are also very good. John Leguizamo shows definite promise in one of his earliest roles.
Overall, it just wasn't as good as I'd hoped. The film shoots itself in the foot by showing the ending at the beginning. And also, there are way too many references to other De Palma films in this one. It's like every ten minutes he has to remind you of all the other films he's done.
6 of 10 stars.
The Hound.