Carlito's Way: Rise to Power

This was just a terrible movie. It hurt me to watch it. Almost every action was unmotivated within the context of the movie, the acting was really poor (P.Diddy was the best actor which really says something about the movie) and the plot was generally predictable. Some links to Carlito's Way were okay, for example his dream of one day moving to the Carribien, but on the whole they were weak. The love interest in my opinion was flat out wrong but hey that's debatable. Anyways I really wasn't expecting much before watching the movie and I guess you could say even those expectations weren't met. I feel bad for Jay Hernandez because he actually is a decent actor (Friday Night Lights). He's lucky though because I'm sure there won't be too many people watching this movie. I generally give movies a decent rating if they spark my interest at all so I'm gonna go ahead and give this one two stars. Better luck next time. And yes I did enjoy Carlito's Way.

I haven't read the book nor watched the original Carlito's Way... all I know about the latter is who stars and who directs that one, and I know even less than that about the novels. Perhaps that's why this didn't come off as being as awful as people seem to feel it was... no basis for comparison. The story isn't poor, and it's decently enough told. The plot develops throughout, with some surprises. The acting varies. The lead could be better. Combs, eh, I don't know. Young isn't bad, but hey, is he ever? The pacing is fine. The music is fair. Editing could be better, but it's not terrible. Effects and such do reveal a budget, one that wasn't the biggest, but it's not as obvious as it could be. There is hardly any action, and it's certainly not worth watching this for. There could be more tension, where such is attempted built. Language is... loose, and there's violence, sexuality and drug use as well... this is hardly a film for children. The voice-overs leave a lot to be desired. All in all, you could find movies that deliver considerably less. Be aware that this is more of a gangster feature than an action flick. I recommend this to people who enjoy cinema(or, in this case, direct-to-video releases) regarding the environment. 5/10

Maybe the worst part of this film is the casting for the lead role Carlito Brigante, whichever way you look at it everybody expects a Pacino, but casting Jay Hernandez is a let down, even though he is a fine actor, he really had a lot to do to try and follow in Pacino's shoes, and i am afraid to say he failed dismally. Over all it is not a bad film, there is a lot worse out there, some nice acting from not so well known names, but i must say i was surprised by Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs performance, not your normal pop star turned pretend actor, he was really very good, and i for one will look forward to future work from him. I would suggest you take a look at this movie, forget about the original Carlito's Way, and just enjoy it for what it is.

I agree with another user comment.. This film on its own would have been considered pretty good. But the fact that its a prequel to Carlito's Way means it will always be compared. Hernandez is a decent actor but he is not even in the same league as Pacino.

That being said, I felt that the acting was very good. There weren't any moments that made you cringe. I kind of worry when I see Mario Van Peebles in a movie because it means that the film is low budget. :) But even he was very solid as a 70s business man.

I even thought Sean Combs was very believable as Hollywood Nicky. Kudos to him for not sucking in a movie.

It is kind of unfortunate that this movie went straight to DVD.

Definitely worth a watch.

Carlito's Way: Rise to Power is a prequel to the film Carlito's Way. Without giving too much away though, the film's end doesn't fit to the beginning of the original, and thus is a bit of a disappointment. I have heard that there is another "missing piece" in between this film and the original, currently being worked on as a novel, if this is true, then time will tell how they all fit together, and many people criticising this film for not working with the original may have to eat their words. So, taking Carlito's Way: Rise to Power as a film in it's own right, it does quite well. Carlito meets two guys in jail and they push drugs when they get out. The usual gangster movie clichés are played out, but with some good comedy touches, clever plot and a focus on the morality of it all in dialogue. Any character played by Pacino is going to be a tough role to fill, but I felt Jay Hernandez did very well, and would love to see the "missing piece" get made if it is true. Sean Coombs was also surprisingly good, having the bulk of the best comedy lines. All in all, as long as you don't expect a movie that is as good, or directly links to the original, you should enjoy it.