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Carlito's Way: Rise To Power [HD DVD] | ![Carlito's Way: Rise To Power [HD DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Zd7pBahtL._SL160_.jpg) | Director: Michael Bregman
Actors: Jay Hernandez, Mario Van Peebles, Luis Guzmán, Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs, Michael Kelly
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
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Seller: donnafe
Rating:  33 reviews
Sales Rank: 48601
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: HD DVD
Region: 0
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 28542
UPC: 025193285423
EAN: 0025193285423
ASIN: B000ULPFHC
Theatrical Release Date: 2005
Release Date: October 23, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Universal Carlito's Way: Rise To Power - HD-DVD
From the producer of "Scarface" and "Carlito's Way" comes the action thriller "Carlito's Way: Rise To Power."Jay Hernandez ("Friday Night Lights"), Mario Van Peebles ("Ali"), Luis Guzman ("Carlito's Way") andSean Combs ("Monster's Ball") star in the gripping tale of the early years of gangster legend Carlito Brigante. Seduced by the power of the brutal New York underworld, he enters a deadly circle of greed and retribution. Assisted by his two brothers in crime, Carlito is on the fast track to becomingSpanish Harlem's ultimate kingpin. He quickly learns, however, that the only way to survive at the top is through loyalty to his friends and respect for the rules of the street.
Amazon.com
The success of Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way ensures that the straight-to-DVD release of Carlito's Way: Rise to Power will attract an eager audience among fans of urban gangland melodramas. A stellar cast provides adequate compensation as this tame, relatively bloodless prequel trots out every cliché in the book, qualifying as the 21st-century equivalent of a Warner Bros. gangster programmer from the 1930s. The well-chosen cast of new and familiar faces is caught up in a standard plot of territorial tension in Harlem between the blacks led by Hollywood Nicky (Sean Combs, adding a touch of blingy humor), the old-school Mafia led by Artie Sr. (Burt Young), and the caught-in-the-middle Puerto Ricans who are gaining control as Carlito (Jay Hernandez, in the role Al Pacino originated) and his cross-cultural gang rises to power after his recent release from prison with cellmates and partners-in-crime Earl (Mario Van Peebles) and Rocco (Michael Kelly). They're a tight trio in a climate of mistrust and deception, and Earl's hot-headed brother (Mtume Grant) sets off a series of events that force Carlito to invent a clever alliance that raises the body count while ensuring his long-term status as a dude-you-don't-mess-with. It's fun, for what it's worth (and fans of De Palma's film will enjoy connecting events from one film to the other), but there's not a shred of originality in script or direction by Michael Scott Bregman, whose father Martin produced Carlito's Way. Still, there's something to be said for a gang picture that never promises more than it can deliver. On those terms, and with enough violence and strip-joint nudity to satisfy its generic prerequisites, Rise to Power is definitely worth a look. --Jeff Shannon
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 33
 Jay Hernandez shines March 27, 2010
J. Helsing (Los Angeles, CA USA)
Jay Hernandez, in a strong central performance, demonstrates once again that he can carry a film from point A to Z. As with 2006's horror genre entry, HOSTEL (which opened at #1), Mr. Hernandez holds his own against veteran performers and smartly resists turning in a "Young Al Pacino" portrayal. Instead, he is his own person, fleshing out his role and creating a number of memorable movie moments. While Mr. Hernandez is a strikingly handsome actor, he does not rest on those laurels... not in 'Rise to Power' or any other role he has undertaken.
Why this talented young artisan does not headline more films is beyond this movie-goer. Recommended!
 HD DVD February 25, 2010
John MacLeod (Everett, WA United States)
This DVD was supposed to play on HD player or standard. Won't play on Standard and I have Blu-Ray so I don't know what it's like.
Carlito has lost his way November 22, 2008
Andrew H. Thompson (Bronx, NY)
...It's almost like an extended SNL skit of "Carlito's Way: The Early Years"....horrible script, pacing, atmosphere, acting, and anything else you can think of. Reggie? The acting was as idiotic as the character..The girl's brother? Ditto.....P.Diddy was the best of the 3 and that's saying alot, because he was horrible..Stay away at all costs..
Weak Poop December 25, 2007
Sal Magnum (wisconsin nortwoodz)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Yeah, it's that good. Seems as though my original review has been lost by the Amazon censors, bless their hearts. After a long spell of anguish over my lost masterwork, I finally set forth on the dubious task of recreating it from scratch. What follows is a pale imitation of the original, but sufficient, nonetheless.
WEAK POOP:
It's the same old story from corporate Hollywood; someone "in the business" becomes enchanted with a by-gone classic and feverishly sets forth on an exploitative plan to redo, sequel or prequel it. Cash in on a sure-fire buck, basically. In that monetary gain is the name of the game, art takes a back seat. The typical style trumping substance.
This film could be the poster child for such uninspired filth. A shallow, predictable plot, weak dialogue and horrendous acting on virtually all fronts. Hire actors based on looks and pop culture credentials and proceed to spoon-feed the guillible youth of this land the degradation they so desperately crave.
The original "Carlito's Way" was a gangster classic. Perhaps my favorite of the genre. The characters portrayed deep, honest depictions of the grim life left for the common urbanite in the wake of the "Dream," and one couldn't help but connect and empathize with them.
Unfortunately, this wretched "prequel" is best served as a case study in "Poor, Pompous Acting 101."
Sure, Jay Hernandez is physically more convincing than Al Pacino as a Po' Rican. But he appears to the observant eye as timid and awkward in the role Pacino so deftly defined in the original. It's as ridiculous as watching an Ivy Leaguer frontin' as a street thug. I was totally unconvinced and winced throughout his on-screen appearances for the retro-active shame his paltry performance will one day give him and his offspring. This was his chance at stardom and he blew it like a fart in the wind. Not to mention that he isn't even a native New Yawkah. I mean, with the 4.5 million Puerto Ricans living in the general vacinity, you'd think they could've found one who would've juiced up the role a lil' more effectively.
Poof Diddly takes the cake though. I just knew this movie was cursed when I saw previews featuring this stained taint. My oh my. Poof cranks up the level of idiotic preening and posturing already running rampant. His role as a no-nonsense king-pin named Hollywood Nicky was surely a wet dream come true for ol' Diddy, and it shows. His desperate life-long struggle for street-cred probably seemed resolved...until we are blessed to see him work his schtick. "Embarrassing," can't adequately describe it. It's the equivalent of an old syphilitic whoore trying to convince you that she's a fresh, young virgin. Much guffawing ensues, followed perhaps by a firm kick in the coccyx. Poof, you're foolin' nobody, you big girl :) (O, for bonus measure, you can watch the "brilliant" making-of documentary included in the dvd special features and discover how it was Poof's stroke of genius that had him daintily sipping from a tea-cup in the back of his whip like Miss Daisy, when his character is first seen onscreen. Cold gangsta!)
The character of Earl's brother, Reggie, is another low point for cinematic art. Overtly boorish to the enth degree, this poor schmuck is portrayed with none of the subtleties which typify the great weasels in film history. You eagerly wait for the time when he is thrown in a dumpster, but alas, the melodramatics drag on and on before he is mercifully put out of his misery by his own brother in a contrived, "Yeah, I never would've seen that coming," kind of plot "twist."
It's also a backhand to all the great revolutionaries of the time period, how this blighted scourge carries on a cause he obviously is severely uninformed about. The filmmakers' spare no chance to heap insult and derisive dialogue on this character and his "cause". It becomes shamelessly evident that they mean to willfully denegrate the great counter-culture movements of the 60's and 70's. Only a cast of ignorant uncle toms would've set idly by watching, as rich ol' whitey shet down the throat of their cultural ethos. This character was a farce and in no way indicative of the Black Panthers which we are to assume he is supposedly representing. Fred Hampton would've stomped a mudhole in this cur's arse for being such a whiny, self-centered numbnut. I'm guessing whomever dreamt this character (or the whole storyline for that matter) up was a whitebred lush born with silver spoon in ahss who likely caught flack from the revolutionary types during childhood. Or maybe they had been countlessly raped for their lunch money every day on the way to school in an area where old winos and junkies were the only ones in the vacinity to hear their mournful cries, where no Sir Gallahad would ever come racing to their rescue to stop the brutal inhumanity. Left forever to carry the proverbial "cross-to-bear" and curse the poor for their fate. Such is life.
Also in this movie, there are several vain attempts at humor scattered throughout, all going over like a lead balloon in a psyche ward. You are likely to hear yourself chortling a few notes like Dick Cheney suffering a light stroke, but this is more in the vein of laughing "at them," instead of "with them."
The dialogue (or lack thereof) of this trite flick is also of note. It's the type of mundane mediocrity that would leave a Cro-Magnon feeling intellectually slighted, hungering for meat to cover these conversational bones. Gaping holes in the script are nonchalantly scattered throughout like we aren't supposed to notice. Keep us on our toes wondering, 'Wtf did I miss?!' None of the scenes are very well set up, and as a result, all the resolutions to them seem botched and anti-climactic.
Yes, this film is full of holes, but the most unforgivable error, at least in my mind, is the way it ends. Touted as a "prequel," the decision was obviously made to have this film stand on its' own wobbly legs. In the end, cheesy, feel-good fluff is smeared all on ya face like a sick joke. Where in the original do we hear of Carlito running off to the tropics? It was most assuredly his dream, but one that was never realized. A man gone to his version of utopia with the self-proclaimed love of his life and oodles of dough would have no need to come back and grovel in the cold, unforgiving streets again. Especially a man with the rare sense Carlito (Pacino's version) had. Not to mention that he is supposed to have just served a stretch in the big house prior to the original, as opposed to a glorious island vacation. Way to retch on my face you buggers!
Bottom line; forget they ever made this filth and stick with the original. Steer clear of this abomination lest it soil your opinion of the real "Carlito's Way," which is a true masterpiece.
Doesn't even deserve 1 Star December 22, 2006
M. Coffey (Houston, TX)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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...
Showing reviews 1-5 of 33
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