ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

portomilk This movie has no relation to the story of Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way. I mean, where's Pachanga? Where's the Crippled? What about his whole entire back story he gave while walking down Spanish Harlem. It would've been easy to make an actual prequel instead of a series of gimmicks and cheesy endings. Like fr, bro. Carlito never escaped to paradise, he died wishing that he could settle down with Gail and raise his child. There was no relation or reference to Gail at all in this movie. Carlito was incarcerated for 4-8 years before Carlito's Way had actually started. The person who made this had no idea about the plot, setting, and story of Carlito. Basically this is just a movie about another drug dealer/ killer who was friends with Puff Daddy. They really let me down with this movie.

Angelus2 Carlito Way, the original is a brilliant story about an ex-drug dealer who hopes to leave his criminal past and so he invests in a club and the deals with the trouble that comes with it.This film was....I saw the trailer and knew instantly it was going to be bad..But after dismissing films in the past and finding out they were great( Lucky Number Slevin, Tokyo Drift)...I gave this a shot and it failed within the first five minutes...The script is something a teenager would come up with if given five minutes to prepare...It was weak, with weaker dialogue. It seems there is an instant need for romance in a gangster movie. So Brigante decides to beat a guy up for the girl....and she say's 'Yes!' And if you need to act bad just throw racism around...As we learn from the 'Italian mobsters'...The acting was terrible to say the least...I found 'Hollywood Nicky', hilarious.I absolutely hate all these musicians turning to movies. Lets face it the only reason P Diddy did this movie was so he could play a gangsters...The actress who plays Leticia was weak but beautiful. The sex scene was weak but we got to see her..which was okay...But overall I expected it shed light on how Carito ended up in prison and the love of his life...And the assassin towards the end completely added to the horrendous movie that is...Carlito's Way: Rise to Power..

redwhiteblue5087 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.

Claudio Carvalho In the 60's, the Puerto Rican Carlito Brigante (Jay Hernandez), the Afro-American Earl (Mario Van Peebles) and the Italian Rocco (Michael Kelly) become best friends while in prison. When they are released, Rocco intermediates a heroin business with a family of the Italian Mafia leaded by Artie Bottolota Sr. (Burt Young). Carlito negotiates with the lord Leroy "Hollywood Nicky" Barnes (Sean Combs) the area where the trio could operate in his neighborhood and sooner the three friends become powerful. Later, Carlito dates and has an affair with the beautiful Leticia (Jaclyn DeSantis). When Earl decides to move to Barbados with his girlfriend and leave the heroin business, his stupid younger brother causes a situation with the Italian mobsters, and Carlito and Rocco have to resolve the mess to save their lives."Carlito's Way: Rise to Power" is not as bad as written in many reviews in IMDb. Actually it is a good story, with the beginning of the criminal life of Carlito, showing his ability to negotiate. The story has good doses of humor, a decent plot and a surprising twist in the end. I do not dare to compare this movie with the excellent Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way, but I personally liked the explanations of the criminal life of Carlito and his friends. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "O Pagamento Final: Rumo ao Poder" ("The Final Payment: in the Way to the Power")