Review: Carlito's Way - Rise To Power (B-)

Carlito's Way: Rise To Power (2005)
Directed by
Starring Jay Hernandez, Mario Van Peebles, Luis Guzman, Giancarlo Esposito and Burt Young
MPAA: R
Grade: B-

Review by Bobby Nashville

Okay, Godfather it's not, but Carlito's Way - Rise To Power is a surprisingly effective little drama.

As most know, Carlito's Way Rise To Power is the precursor to Carlito's Way (starring Al Pacino and Sean Penn). It tells the story of young Carlito Brigante's rise to power in New York. Carlito (a Puerto Rican) partners with an African American and an Italian American while in the joint. Upon release, they carve up a nice little part of Manhattan for their heroin biz.

The story behind Carlito's Way - Rise To Power is fresh and the direction is solid. The acting is a little better than expected. Jay Hernandez and Luis Guzman are solid as can be expected and Mario Van Peebles is incredible as Earl. Burt Young and Sean Combs are a little flat here, but I'll cut them some slack this time.

I also have to point out the music in Carlito's Way, Rise To Power, a fantastic mix of dusties, rare groove and dead-on funk. For fans of seventies funk and classic old school R&B, you need to seek out the soundtrack, it's dynamite.