A weak entry in the over crowded mob/gangster genre

Rating: Null/10 (12 November 2002)

I expected a lot more from `Scarface' than I got. I expected something sublime and intelligent. What I got was gaudy, ostentatious, weakly directed, and pretty mundane material. Oh well.
Al Pacino is. being Al Pacino in this. Look at me - I am a hard edged Cuban! Look at my accent and my ability to be unfazed my murder! His accent here grated on my nerves throughout the movie, sounding too thick and enforced. Michelle Pfeiffer, as Love Interest, barely registered a flicker in my brain - look she's steely but also vunerable. Yawn. In fact the characters here all seemed wafer thin (depth wise). With the likes of `The Sopranos' fleshing out deeper gangster mob members, I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the people here and - fatal flaw - didn't care what happened.
The trouble is that Brian De Palma seems to screw this movie up that bit more. It's mired in eighties culture, making it seem already outdated in the way that more skilful directors would never let their creations go. The suspense is laughable as the overwhelming score has the subtlety of a large number of anvils. The camera work similarly made me curl my lips in distaste. De Palma got nominated for a Golden Raspberry award here - I can see why. Cringe inducing Brian.
Is the movie then thoroughly awful? Well no, it's not. It's watchable. The script isn't up to much either of course, as the whole drug empire thing has been done before, with more brains and creativity behind it (sorry Mr. Stone!). It's all just so. forgettable. The only moment that made me smile was the ludicrously over the top finale with the quotable (and ham fisted delivery): `Say hello to my little friend'. Oh well, better luck next time. 4/10.