Carlito's Way

The pacing was a bit slow at times and I didn't like the ending very much. Partly because the beginning spoiled the ending. Don't know why they did it like this. Other than that it is a good film, but with some flaws.

As per usual with De Palma, a lot of this is carried by the filmmaking. The camerawork, the soundtrack choices, the editing, the drugs 'n disco vibe; he knows exactly what he's doing in terms of presentation. However, for the first two acts I was kinda waiting for the moment that would really pull me in. Throwing some neo-noir into the usual gangster flick is a neat idea, and the story itself has a nice hook, but it doesn't have that scene, beat or concept that'd move it beyond being decently intriguing. For the first two acts I thought the story was fairly predictable, and as a character study about redemption/rehabilitation it's thin. It's got very good performances and characters, but it felt static overall. It makes up for a lot of those shortcomings in the third act, however, which includes lots of memorable scenes that are filled with nail biting tension. Maybe some of the tension gets a little nerfed by the fact that the ending is spoiled in the opening, which I think was the wrong choice for this particular movie, but the execution is still something to behold. 6.5/10