Not just one of the best films of the 80s, but one of the best ever.

Rating: 10/10 (7 July 2004)

(Warning:Contains Spoilers)
For one thing, if you haven't seen this film you're missing out on a great story, a dynamite script, atmospheric synthesizer music, Al Pacino's best performance to date and one of the most memorable and enjoyable morality tales ever to hit the silver screen. Personally, I found this film to be incredibly fun to watch and actually thought the character of Tony was a redeemable one being he only killed drug dealer and scum bags. Around the same time this movie came out, the show Miami Vice became popular and the resemblance between the two was undeniable. The clothes, music style, setting and plot of Scarface and Miami Vice were basically two sides of the same coin and would go on to inspire the now classic game Grand Theft Auto:Vice City. The film Scarface follows a Cuban immigrant's career in the cocaine distribution industry and the events that lead to his demise. In fact, the demise at the end of the film contains a very frantic shoot out which one will remember for a long time. To keep the character some what likable, the film makers portray him as a likable and average guy who just wants a piece of the American dream and succeeds in getting what he desires by joining the Miami drug trafficking community. However, this story also works as a morality tale being it depicts the life of drug dealers as being shallow, decadent and miserable. It become clear to the audience that the director is sending a message about the dark side of drug dealing when he shows Tony dependent on his own cocaine and reduced to a paranoid and jealous dirt bag who cant take care of himself let alone his multi-million dollar industry.While this film has easily stood the test of time, it remains a time capsule for Miami in the 80s. The director uses Miami to show the audience a place of gorgeous and sultry sunsets, a wild and glamorous nightlife and beautiful beaches and women as the backdrop to a very dark and violent story of crime and decadence, just like Miami Vice.