Movie Reviews

I suppose that Brian De Palma's 1983 film Scarface should be acclaimed as one of the very early sprawling, epic, and violent gangster films. I don't think it's held up exceptionally well over time, though. It's certainly an entertaining movie, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's one of the true, great, classics.

Al Pacino plays Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee at the start of the film, living an impoverished life in a refugee camp. He seems to have an unlimited supply of ambition, however, and happily accepts a high-paying offer to assassinate a Cuban diplomat touring the camp. So begins his rise to power, and the film follows along as he is taken under the wing of a druglord, only to turn around later on and prove himself to be an even better druglord. I guess the highlight of the film is Pacino's Tony Montana, a really hard-assed gangster-type who'll do whatever it takes to make it to the top, but who's also undeniably true to his word. Pacino really exudes the ego, greed, and determination in the character of Montana, and as nasty and mean as the character is, it's hard not to get caught up in his rise to power (Montana is the penultimate 'anti-hero').

The rest of the film doesn't fare quite as well. The kitsch-factor of the 80's setting and synth-pop soundtrack is almost painful. There's also not a hugely coherent storyline here -- it's essentially a series of snapshots of the events of Montana's rise to power, without much of a connecting line between them.

What was interesting, though, is Montana's ultimate downfall at the end of the film. He becomes a man who has all the material possessions and power that anyone could possibly want, ten times over, yet he seems at a loss regarding what to do with himself after that, other than become a bitter, suspicious-minded jerk towards anyone who might've possibly been a friend to him.

Scarface can perhaps be seen as an over-the-top satire of 80's excess (and it certainly delivers on over-the-top excessiveness), and Pacino definitely makes the film worth watching. But it's not as good as any of the Godfather or Martin Scorsese gangster films.