Not exactly a masterpiece, no matter what you read in "The Source."

Rating: 6/10 (17 March 2005)

Brian DePalma's "Scarface" is entertaining, exciting, intense, sometimes very intelligent, and often carried by Al Pacino's captivating lead performance. However, it doesn't live up to the "Greatest Film in Cinema History" title that the hip-hop community has bestowed upon it. There are some scenes that look positively cartoonish when compared to some of Scorsese's gangster epics. The cinematography, set design, costumes, and music are all lively and colorful, but sometimes make the whole story seem trapped in cheesy 80s excess. Ten years later, Pacino and DePalma reunited for "Carlito's Way", and that film was, in my opinion, even better than "Scarface." Sophisticated and genuinely emotional, and not a bit over-rated.