DVD Review: Carlito's Way - Rise to Power

By Andy McKeague Nov 4, 2005, 17:45 GMT

It is probably better to cast aside the Pacino version and try to take this small gangster tale as a stand-alone movie, and on its own merit.

Showing the early days of Brigante (Jay Hernandez) on and after his release from prison at the ripe old age of 21. Teaming up with his two friends from the inside, the black Earl (Mario Van Peeples) and the Italian Rocco (Michael Kelly), they soon go into business bringing the popular drug of choice, cocaine, to the poor, but only under the watchful eyes of the Italian mafia, lead by Artie Bottolota Sr. (an over the top performance from Burt Young) and the coloured kingpin Hollywood Nicky (Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs). Money is soon pouring in for the threesome and any challenges are normally dealt with looking down a barrel of a gun.

Taken by the feisty coat check girl Leticia (Jaclyn DeSantis), Carlito decides to woe her, much to the displeasure of her brother who is aware of who exactly Carlito is.

Things could not seem better, that is, until Earl’s younger brother Reggie (Mtume Gant), turns up. A black militant pretender becomes the fly in the ointment for the new drug lords. Constantly at odds with the powers at be, he places his brother and his two friends in a jeopardous and perilous situation that leads to a deadly solution. The trio must ‘off’ the youngster, or have contracts placed upon themselves. Enter hitman Nacho Reyes (Guzman), a coke snorting partying loving parody of a gangster, who decides to give the guys a chance and help them out before he goes through with his task.

The problem with ‘Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power’ is not that it is a bad movie, but it is directed in a very workman like fashion and becomes nothing exceptional either. Some of the performances are rather good, especially Gant  (who almost steals this show), Combs, Peeples, and a very underused Kelly. Hernandez has some very big shoes to fill and at times pulls it off giving in a decent Pacino impersonation, but this wavers far too often and lacks a consistent approach to his role. Guzman, a normally reliable heavy, has been given a role too large for life to be credible in the slightest almost sinks this pedestrian and formulaic affair. The least said about Burt Young through the piles of munching linguine the better.

Bergman, who has worked with De Palma on several times in the past including ‘Scarface’ and ‘Carlito’s Way’, has created a great 60’s vibe to his movie, but not much else.

For a small release this has some pretty decent extras, well at least on the surface. Having a trailer for the Pacino movie at the beginning only leads you up that false path one more time before the show, and seems to show what they may have at least intended. The short ‘making of’ is pretty generic, and ‘Got Your Back: Carlito's Brothers in Crime’ and ‘Bringing the Hood to Life’ featurettes don’t fair much better. On a slightly better note are the deleted scenes, gag reel and the on-set tour with Peebles.

You can do much worse than this, it is just a shame that they do not join the dots for you and lead up to the events or characters portrayed in the excellent Pacino movie, a missed opportunity for sure.

'Carlito's Way: Rise to Power' is available to buy via Amazon and for pre-order via AmazonUK.
 
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