Al Pacino delivers one of the greatest performances in what is one hell of an entertaining film

Rating: 9/10 (13 March 2013)

I am not one to believe in critics. I usually don't agree with them but I was very skeptical about seeing this movie due to such negativity I've heard stating that the movie is way too over the top, over acted, boring story line and very cheesy. So naturally, my expectations weren't very high for this movie I love Al Pacino as an actor, especially in the Godfather, where both he and Marlon Brando just owned the first and he stole the show in the second with Robert de Niro.
The story of 'Scarface' focuses around a Cuban refugee by the name of Tony Montana, and much like Godfather, focuses on the rise and corruption to greed and power of this man.
The acting in the movie was mainly great but Al Pacino's legendary performance and what I believe is, his greatest yet, was totally deserving of an Academy Award for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor! That's how amazing that performance was. Some of the dialogue in the movie is awful like 'Say Hello to My little friend!' but under Al Pacino's amazing portrayal, these sound like bits of Quentin Tarantino's gold dialogue!
The movie is over the top! Yes! However, it is pretty aware of itself and such acts throughout the film indicate this very clearly such as Tony Montana saying "I'm still standing" and so on. That brings to a MAJOR SPOILER, SO DON'T READ THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE! Tony Montana's death is one of the more disappointing conclusions to a movie I otherwise loved. I mean, the Mask comes up and just shoots him and he dies! I would've liked a bit of a duel before Tony was taken out.
Also, the movie was quite predictable but I also just enjoyed it Critics have said the movie is slow paced and the last half of the movie isn't very good in comparison to the first half- I disagree. The movie for me, was paced perfectly and three hours went by quickly. The second half is the half I like more mainly due to the true corruption of Tony Montana. However, this movie did add two surprisingly touching scenes and I was surprised by it actually! The cinematography can be lazy and the music isn't a John Williams masterpiece or anything but is nevertheless, good. The directing in the movie, I thought was fantastic and paced brilliantly! Al Pacino's amazing performance is easily enough to say that even if the rest of the cast was awful, the overall acting in the movie would still be good In conclusion,
'Scarface' is a movie that has been heavily criticized by critics but in my opinion, isn't anything as bad as it has been said. I personally loved it and 3 hours went by far too quickly when dealing with my favorite Al Pacino performance! The final 45 minutes was full of tension and superbly made if only the final minute of the movie could've been better done