Carlito's Way: Rise to Power

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source: Carlito's Way: Rise to Power

Trailer—Carlito's Way: Rise to Power

Carlito's Way: Rise to Power

Soon after watching this film you will realize why it didn't even make it to the theaters! This movie does not deserve the "prequel" tag. Instead this is a common theme in Hollywood, rip off previously good movies with disastrous prequels, sequels, etc. This film's plot was bouncing all over the place like a ping pong ball, and the character development was non-existent. I seriously felt like I was watching a comedy at some points in the movie because the acting was so bad. P Diddy needs to stop tainting movies with his horrible acting, he actually made me laugh every time. The only good thing that comes out of this movie is Jaclyn DeSantis, who looks excellent in this movie and actually brought some enjoyment from watching this film. If you are a big Carlito's Way fan, I recommend you not watch this. If you decide to watch it anyway then treat this movie as if it ripped off the original, because that is exactly what it did.

Having read some of the negative reviews, I approached this with low expectations, but straight away was surprised by the good cast and classy production values, which were much higher than the usual movies released straight to DVD. Although not specifically a prequel, as it seems to be set in the same decade as the Pacino film, it stars the likable Hernandez playing the same charismatic character. The story kept you entertained all the way through until the end, which was the only slight disappointment. The final shoot out was a little anticlimactic, but managed to tie up the loose ends satisfactorily enough. Overall, worth a watch if you enjoy gangster movies, but don't set your expectations too high.

I watched this film immediate after watching the original for the first time, so both films are fresh in my mind. I thought this film was boring until about the halfway point. After that point, things really turned themselves around and became enjoyable. Although I found it boring initially, I would like to point out that I was utterly impressed with Sean Comb's acting. I've seen him in other things, most noticeably Monster's Ball, but I don't remember that performance. In this film, he came off as a believable hardcase of a drug kingpin. He was almost sociopathic in his delivery, but he also provided me with the few laughs in the film, such as whenever he would interact with his driver. Jay Hernandez also did a good job at sounding like Al Pacino's version of the same character. Other than that, this film just rehashes tired tropes of the gangster genre. It was enjoyable, but it was largely unoriginal. I also didn't like how there wasn't any real consistency amongst the characters.

People continue to make 'movies' that are not worth watching one minute of. This is the funny thing about the difference between actors and real life people. No one wants to watch Puff Daddy act like something that he is or used to be in real life. Do you think Gotti would have been a good actor? Nope. Stick to 'rappin' Show me one film that's actually worth being called a film that has a rapper in it besides Will Smith and MAYBE Ice Cube (Friday)...and I just thought of Ice Tea in "New Jack City." I just hate how in recent years movies have been becoming more and more junk if anything. A great art going downhill because of garbage like this.

If you hit your head with a shovel, write the script with your feet, you may come close to the intelligence level of this movie. There is nothing in this movie that hasn't been done a thousand times in other gangster flicks and done much better. Those who think "Scarface" was some kind of hero to be looked up to or saw "Goodfellas", "Menace II Society" or "Dead Presidents" and thought MMM "That's the life for me!" will like this movie. I thought I'd give the movie a chance, since the premise was perfect for a prequel. I should have known better after seeing Mario Van Peebles and Sean Combs were involved. Anyone above a 4th grade education, see the original with Pacino, a real actor, and be satisfied.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the appalling average rating here on IMDb for this movie, someone somewhere must have given this movie a real low rating based on the trailer or on someone else's word rather than watching the whole thing themselves. Anyone with an I.Q. over 50 would have seen this film what it is, an intelligent well acted prequel to a modern day classic, yes it doesn't have a blockbuster cast or a huge budget BUT it is still very well done and had me hooked for the full duration. All I want now is a follow-up which covers Carlito's years running drugs through the Caribbean and into Florida and I can die a happy man. For those that have seen Carlito's Way but are unsure about watching the prequel all I can say is that you will be losing out if you give this movie a miss based on a lack-lustre trailer. Watch and enjoy!