"Scarface" was a great operatic film rooted in Greek tragedy, primarily the downfall of its protagonist related to his own hubris and pride. Its over-the-top theatrics and scenery-chewing acting complemented the absurdist tone of the film; some carping critics complained it was "too violent," but it was silly violence...and it worked.

"Carlito's Way" is considered by many to be a companion piece of sorts to "Scarface" - but in its own ways it is vastly different. As "GoodFellas" differed a great deal from "Casino" in its narrative methods, "Carlito's Way" isn't as broad and theatrical as "Scarface." Of course, it's still a DePalma film, and that means we get some beautiful set pieces - but for the most part DePalma avoids his excessive visuals and instead opts for a balanced mixture of both storyline and directorial flair. It is not a sequel to "Scarface" - it is an expansion, and it seems entirely apt that its narrative is more mature, considering that Carlito Brigante (the main character) is wiser than Tony Montana from "Scarface." Carlito is a Puerto Rican ex-con who gets out of a thirty-year jail sentence based on a technicality after serving a mere five years of sentence. Faced with a new life and fresh horizons, he decides to heed the lessons he learned in jail and embark on a new and honest lifestyle.

"Scarface" was Greek tragedy insofar as Tony Montana was doomed to a downfall based on his own egotism and stubbornness. Like Oedipus in Sophocles' classic story, Montana was too bull-headed to take the advice of his wife and friends and was entirely responsible for his own emotional (and, in "Scarface's" case, physical) demise.

"Carlito's Way" is the flip side of the coin. It's still Greek tragedy, but it offers a new perspective. This time, the protagonist tries to change his fate, but his life is doomed to its inevitable conclusion. Carlito tries to change his ways, but - to paraphrase a character from another film - there is only one guarantee...Carlito Brigante will never see heaven. That's the fundamental truth of this movie, and DePalma's less showy camera-work, and the more mature characterizations by the actors, and the believable script, ensure that "Carlito's Way" is an entirely human experience - far more so than "Scarface." (Which is still a great film based on its own goals.)

CARLITO'S WAY (1993) is the real best Al Pacino performance after 1990. Love him in his Oscar-winning role in SCENT OF A WOMAN (1992); it's not as overrated as people say and he is infectiously good in that. But in CARLITO'S WAY, Mr. Pacino plays the more difficult role of Carlito Brigante, who deserves as much respect as Michael Corleone or Tony Montana! I've got to preface the rest of my review by saying that I've seen this film a bunch of times, starting with right after it first came out in the early 90s and have loved it ever since. It is one of those films that has EVERYTHING in it that will appeal to anyone. You like Action? CHECK...Romance? CHECK...Drama? CHECK...Thrills? CHECK...Humor? CHECK...This is one of the rare films that has it all!

The legendary Pacino seemed to specialize in playing ambitious, crafty, respected gangsters and Carlito is no exception in those general aspects; but in this film, Carlito is in large parts different from both Corleone or Montana; whereas both Corleone and Montana were very powerful men that controlled empire throughout the bulk of their films, Carlito WAS a powerful gangster who lost his empire and did jail time; also, Corleone and Montana were inherently suspicious and possessive men to the point of being paranoid, and dare I say it, inherently evil; whereas Carlito was justifiably suspicious, but also ironically forgiving and accepting of other people's shortcomings and at his core, a GOOD man! The other 2 men chose to live a certain way and either never tried to redeem himself (Corleone) or never had a chance (Montana),but Carlito has lived the hard, gangster lifestyle, paid for his sins, and now wants redemption and to start anew. From the moment the film starts in 1975 with his courtroom speech (the only pure comic moment in the film) "thanking" the judge for releasing him early from his 30-year prison sentence (he only served 5 years) to the very end, the viewer HAS to root for Carlito Brigante!

Carlito, upon release, wants to start a whole knew life and become legitimate. No more drug-dealing, no more killings. He wants to play it straight. Carlito's lawyer that gets him off is Dave Kleinfeld (played by the great Sean Penn in a superb performance),a shady man who is hooked on drugs and has his own troubles as he has stolen money from one of his other imprisoned gangster clients, who finds out about it and blackmails Kleinfeld into helping break him out of prison. This is definitely one of my favorite Sean Penn performances and ironically in a supporting role. He's effortless as this scuzzy, posing, pathetic, out-of-his-league lawyer and in a way, his tale is as tragic as Carlito's.

The film's first ironic moment occurs when Carlito's young cousin gets him into a scrape with some low-level drug dealers in a crappy gin-joint/pool hall, where Carlito must use his old school cunning and instincts to survive. His cousin had $30,000 to make the deal for the drugs, but the dealers were going to kill him and keep the drugs and money for themselves. Carlito can't save his inexperienced cousin, but outsmarts the dealers and gets away with the money. He uses that money to buy into a partnership with disco-owner Sasso.

At this point, he sees a dancer one night that reminds him of his old girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller in a sexy, sweet performance). He seeks out Gail one night after her dance class and they go to a diner to talk about their past and possible future. Honestly, I think that "beauty" is an overrated word and there are even actresses that are (supposedly) beautiful in real life that don't do it for me on screen, but Miller as Gail totally does it for me! Gail is a REAL woman, who, like Carlito has goals, ambitions, desires and they complement each other perfectly. Gail is sexy in a very natural way.

Things look good for Carlito, but feeling he must help Dave out of his scrape, he goes along with him the night of the prison escape on a boat with the gangster's son and Dave kills the son against Carlito's wishes. Carlito cleans his hands of Dave. But there is another up and coming gangster Benny Blanco (John Leguiziamo in a wonderful performance) that has an unhealthy admiration for Carlito and won't leave him alone. So Carlito finds himself surrounded by all these shady types that he can't shake. He decides to run away with Gail, who is pregnant.

Directed by the great Brian DePalma, CARLITO'S WAY is a very authentic period piece as he captures the essence of the 1970s without the film bogging itself down in that time period. The focus is on the characters and the story, but has an epic feel with a lot of long-view tracking shots, an operatic score, and Pacino's brilliant narration of his characters thoughts and emotions. The cinematography is amongst the best I've ever seen in a modern film. All these elements perfectly complement the bombastic personality, yet contemplative nature of Carlito Brigante. I don't know if I've ever seen a film where virtually all non-human elements of the film reminded TOTALLY of it's main character! Another thing...this film is almost 2 and 1/2 hours long and is NEVER boring! That's an incredible feat in and of itself.

Great supporting work is also provided by Luis Guzman (as Carlito's right hand man Pachanga),James Rebhorn (as the D.A. out to nail Kleinfeld),Paul Mazursky (as the judge who freed Carlito),and my favorite one played by Viggo Mortensen (as the wheelchair-bound Lalin, an old associate of Carlito's).

But in the end, this film is ALL Mr. Pacino's, who effortlessly essays the title character and gets some of the most quotable dialogue in the gangster genre of film. A top 10 film of the 1990s!

Great movie..and I can see why it is underrated...possibly due to obvious comparisons to Scarface (Brian De Palma, Martin Bregman, Al Pacino team),which was much more brutal in its approach.

Al Pacino as Carlito, awesome as he is, is still much softer compared to the sledgehammer Tony Montana. And then there is some romance mixed in with the story of a gangster trying to reform himself.

I didn't like the romantic scenes myself...thought they interrupted the flow of the story...hence I gave it a 9 instead of a 10! There is also some clichéd dialogue. I happen to be a big Pacino fan and so I am being a little bit (though not entirely) biased and am sidelining all these things. If you excuse these small potatoes, this one is a great flick from start to finish, very entertaining, with some fantastic performances from the supporting cast, e.g. Sean Penn. Special mention, also, of Viggo Mortensen who comes in for a short role, but plays the part wonderfully.

As for Al Pacino in lead role, he makes sure he steals the show, as usual. Brilliant!