Customer Reviews

Carlito's Way: Rise to Power

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

This one didn't do it for me. I really wanted to like this, being such a fan of the first film. The acting in the film is okay, but it suffers so much compared to the Pacino/Penn film. The climax was very bland. The one thing I wish they would have explained better was how Carlito became friends with the Italian mobster and the African American bookie. They were both very successful people in their own circles, and Carlito was just a common care thief. Why would they cut him in as an equal partner in a tens of million dollar drug business? Also, how did all three get in one cell. This takes place in a time when racial tensions are high, and prison officials would not have put a white/African American and Hispanic in the same cell. And while everyone else in the film hates each other for being differant, these three love each other. I would have liked to see the story of how they got that way. I would steer clear of this one.

Carlito's Way is one of my all time favorite movies.

I didn't expect this movie to be great but with Edwin Torres and Martin Bregman involved, I thought it would be good or even just ok. I thought it would at least have something to do with the original. It doesn't.

Carlito is the only character from the original. You think he would be working with Pachanga and Lalin. He would be developing his friendship with David Kleinfeld. He isn't even dating Gail! He's trying to start a relationship with a totally different woman.

The original implied he had relationships with other gangs but he would have primarily worked with other Latinos. Here he is working directly with a black guy and an Italian.

Also Jay Hernandez just doesn't fit the role of a gangster. He doesn't seem to have the attitude or power that a top gangster would have.

I knew they were trying to capitalize on the reputation of the first one with a substandard straight to video prequel. But I thought it would at least have something to do with the original besides the name and Carlito Brigante (kind of) being the same main character.

Disappointing even with low expectations to begin with.

This is one of the worst films of 2005, a prequel that is almost as bad as dumb and dumberer and son of the mask, the acting is terrible especially P. Diddy's performance, the screenplay is a mess, the cinematography is ridiculous and the violence is bloody, sickening and silly.

This is not as good as al pacino was in 1993.

I Hated this film.

Once again in fantasyland we go with fake "gangstas".P diddo or diddity, pifily poof what ever his name is this week.This movie is not worth the price of the plastic used to make it.the established italian mobsters would not put a black or puerto rican on equel footing.these guys would not share the same area in the joint.ridiculous!!!when it comes to TRUE GANGSTERS there are serious racial/ethnic barriers.That is just the facts.As much as the mass media tries to rewrite history it still doesnt change it.

Being a fan of the original I was anxiously waiting the release of Rise To Power. What a disappointment. They were not true to the original at all. First, the original was set in the 70's so this was supposed to be what? 60's at best? Hardly!

Acting... sucks. The only plausible thing that Jay Hernandez did to portray AL Pacino was mimic his voice... most of the time. He was supposed to be this ruthless street king by the original Carlito's Way portrayal, yet he was this caring, thoughtful street punk who seemingly just got offered a partnership to become a druglord.

This movie was just thrown together and could've been and should've been much much more. I mean how did he get his connections? Why as a punk car thief was he sharing a private cell with a big time numbers guy and a Mafia guy? And why did they had to convince him to join up with them? Where was his crew? When did he oversee operations? What brilliant ideas made him "The JP Morgan of the smack buisness"? How did some dork get the drop on him? Where is Gail? Who the heck is this chick and why did they waste time with her? Where was some of the guys from the original... even with different characters.

It left much to be desired right down to the ridiculous in-paradise happy ending... say what?!?

I am a big Carlito's way fan. I saw it the first friday it was shown in 1993. I have watched it about 50 times on Video or Cable. I have a understanding of the Characters. If you do a prequel, don't pretend like nobody saw or would remember the original. I am very saddened that you didn't develop a better script. Next time, make sure your script writers are true fans. Real Fans of Carlito's way will be hurt, and please, dont recyle (Luiz Guzman)aka Pachanga. He is a very important character in the original. Also, where's Gale? or Klienfeld? or Rolando? or the DA? or Laling? or Sasso? and the ending? that broke my heart. You didn't think we cared about the ending? you made Carlito's dream come true, but you must know, he did go to Lewisburg for 5 years after paradise? or was he halucinating? and everything in the original never really took place? was it just a dream? you got some explaining.

I am fresh off of seeing this for the first time. It was so bad, I HAD to warn the rest of you.

The ONLY thing connecting this movie to the first one is Carlito, Drugs, New York and the 70's. There is nothing else since this movie doesn't seem to be connected in any other way to the original. I don't even see how they can get away with calling it a "prequel".

First off, Jay Hernandez doesn't even remotely translate well into the role of Carlito Brigante that Al Pacino populated in the original. You get the idea that he is more likely, playing dress up and pretending to be someone he's not. Which technically is the truth. But come on, who wants to watch a movie and be reminded so often that everyone is just "acting"? We want to feel like everything that's happening is real, and it's right on our own little TV screen.

Secondly, none of the characters from the original show up in this movie. No Lalin, Pachanga (even though Luis Guzman plays a character named Nacho), no Reynaldo, which is who Carlito was connected with before his jailing. Not even Davy Kleinfeld. And
Gail...poor thang is replaced by some Puerto-Rican girl named Leticia.

So all these bizarre 1995 "Shaft" like events happen that leads up to the ending. Carlito is through with the drug business and ends up living in Barbados. Well, how did he come to the wonderful conclusion that he should get BACK into drugs, dump Leticia, move back to the NY and reunite with all the characters that we know and love from the original....plus end up at the place he started at IN THE BEGINNING of the original??????????

Unanswered questions.

This movie is more like a De-quel than a Pre-quel. A DEgrading attempt at recapturing the glory of the original film.

This movie is entertaining in it's own way ! But not a convincing prequel in anyway ! Very choppy editing and uproarious acting ! Escpecially "Hollywood Nicky" which was played by Puffy ! Where the Original was filmed with style and elegance and Class! This one comes across as a low budget urban film! The script was pretty rotton but in essience entertaining if you don't compare it to The Original ! This Film is no different from any other shoot em up ganster striaght to video drug movie ! They just attached the name "Calito's way" to it ! Rent this at best ! I payed $4 for it and I felt I got my money's worth ! The film quality is poor, and it has that fade in to the next scene camera effect like a tv movie ! Anytime on two seperate occasions in the film, Drug dealers walk into a bar and shoot someone one infront of witnesses ! And no one is arrested for the murders and there not even looked for ? And "Puffy" stood there saying this can happen to you ? You got to laugh ! That was worth the $ 4 in it self ! And some things were just illogical in the movie made no sense at all ! If you almost got your tongue cut out your mouth for talking crazy ! why would you go kidnapp the guy knowing he is part of a big Italian Drug family? And you are nothing but a wannabee Black Probitionist with zero Backup? Why in the end was Carlito retired when the original film opened she was in jail for still dealing ? There was no attempt to align this with the original to meet it even half way. And none of the same characters at all ! I think this movie was already in the making and they decided to just slap Carlito as the main character in it ! Or the director never watched the original just heard about it! LOL

No wonder this release went straight to dvd. The original Carlito's Way is one of my top 3 movies and this is one BIG disappointment. A big majority of the movie I got the feeling like the actors were just standing on screen waiting to say their lines. PDiddy as Hollywood is awful, that is some of the worst acting I have ever seen, especially in the scene where he shoots the guy in the bar. I felt like tossing the dvd out the window by this time and this so called prequel does not connect in anyway to the original. I was waiting for an apperance by Lalin or Pachanga. This movie is a desperate rental if there is nothing better to rent available. My copy is heading off to Ebay.

The only resemblance Rise to Power has with the original Carlito's Way film is in name and producer Martin Bregman. The success of the original begs for a vivacious, guns-blazing Carlito Brigante prequel. Unfortunately, Martin Bregman decided to bankroll his son as the director. The result was a train wreck of a movie with horrible casting, acting, writing, directing; you name it, Michael Bregman did it... bad. Topping it all off, the plot fails to lead in to the original movie!

The irony of this Michael Bregman is the similarity between him and a character in the movie - Reggie. Given the chance to inherit his older brother's powerful and profitable position, Reggie, at every turn, makes horrible decisions. At times, these decisions are made, seemingly without any sort of reason. In the same way, Michael Bregman's choices for the film are painfully disgraceful to the original Carlito's Way, and to his father...

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. For the love, stay away...