| RATING: | 40% |
| FORMAT: | DVD |
Dramatic But No Real Drama
A film compromised by its minstrelsy use of non-Hispanic actors to portray same - impossible to believe the US did not contain any good enough Hispanic performers to play any of the leading roles.
Underneath, this is a Sicilian Mafia film in search of a different ethnicity to act as an exotic backdrop to the clichéd action and indifferent acting. There is no real story here so all we have is a plot driven by empty ambition, incestuous desires and false macho pride. The film itself does not explore these issues in any depth and tries hard to be as good as the Godfather, but without any genuine commitment to thematic realism. The would-be analogy of an attack on Western capitalism that has become mere exploitation (particularly the American Dream) fails to ignite.
A waste of some very talented actors since the characterization is so poor and the script so under-written. The only exception is Mary Elizabeth MASTRANTONIO who shines with sexual aplomb in all her scenes. Carlito’s Way was so much better - as was the original Scarface.
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