1st Scarface review

Rating: 7/10 (24 April 2011)

"Scarface" is a story of power and greed and how it can ruin ones life. Scarface is a strong story that catches your attention and gives the perspective of a young immigrant from Cuba in Southern Florida.
The movie director, Brian De Palma, hides nothing in the movie and shows the trials and tribulation of someone who comes up from the bottom to have his own empire and to have it all come crashing down. Palma also gives the power perspective of the fast rise and even faster fall and the realization of what happens in the drug world.
Al Pacino plays the main role in the movie, Tony Montana, who is a refugee in Florida who fled Cuba along with 125,000 others trying to escape the regime of Fidel Castro. The only way he knows to make it in the states is as criminal working for a boss.
Tony Montana's best friend and partner, Manny Ribera is played by Steven Bauer. Manny is Tony's right hand man and helps in all that he does to rise to the top. The two are friends until the end when things start to fall apart for Tony Montana and their friendship diminishes in an instant.
The only anchor that Tony Montana has that is good in the world is his sister, Gina Montana played by Mary Elizabeth. Gina feels strongly for Tony in the beginning of the movie but as story unravels Tony becomes over protective of his kid sister. Gina gets caught up in the downfall of her brother by the end of the movie.
The one person that escapes the downfall of Tony Montana is his wife, Elvira Hancock played by Michelle Pfeiffer. Tony Montana finds himself in trouble at one part in the movie because he is caught trying to steal Elvira from another boss. As their relationship develops during the movie Elvira realizes the man that Tony is becoming and decides to leave him before his ultimate falling out.
Tony Montana comes to America as a refugee with his friend and partner Manny Ribera. The two do not want to be hard working people that could not get anywhere like in Cuba. They decide to turn to drugs and violence to give them success. Tony, along with Manny, gets their first big break when they get to be involved in a big drug buy. The buy goes bad but Tony comes out with the drugs and the money. He meets the boss that the job was done for and it starts his career. From there Tony comes to power after turning on the boss he once worked for and starts selling his own drugs and making his own deals. Tony has a quick rise and finds himself in a lot of money, cars, a big house, a beautiful wife, and even buys a tiger. But as Tony becomes successful other things start to change his luck for the worse. He starts to become strung out on his own drugs and he becomes very paranoid. He has a run in with the law as does his top business partner. At the end of the movie he shoots his best friend, Manny, for having a relationship with his sister. His estate is then over run by hit men. Tony's sister is killed right in front of him along with all the men that work for him. As the movie comes to a close Tony is killed in his own house trying to fight of the hit men.