Carlito's Way: Rise to Power
Tags: violence, murder

Plot synopsis:
The story begins in the 1960s with three inmates in a New York prison — Earl (Van Peebles), Rocco (Kelly), and Carlito (Hernandez) — controlling their criminal empire within their cell. Upon their release, they all look to control the drug trade in Harlem, which is currently in a power dispute between the Italian Bottolota crime family and black gangsters led by Hollywood Nicky (Combs). Rocco takes them to Artie Bottolota (Young) who at first is reluctant to work with blacks and Puerto Ricans, but who eventually cuts a deal with them in heroin distribution. The friends also meet Artie's son, Artie Jr. Soon, Earl's troubled younger brother Reggie joins them. After Artie Jr. offers to shake hands with Reggie, when he sees he and Carlito at a strip joint, Reggie turns him down, saying "my brother was doing fine without you". Artie Jr. insults Reggie with a racial slur, spurring Reggie to curse him and spit in his face. Artie Jr. assaults Reggie, but the fight is broken up. Carlito urges Reggie to wait until Artie Jr. and his crew leave. The mobsters leave, only for Carlito and Reggie to be cornered by them outside.
Artie Jr. attempts to kill Reggie with a straight razor by cutting his tongue out, while Carlito is restrained. Rocco pulls up and tells Artie Jr. to let him go, reasoning they will "take care of him." Carlito also meets a young lady named Leticia and meets her brother Sigfredo. Carlito is then introduced to Leticia's entire family as a booker. Sigfredo knowing who and what Carlito really is and does, which leads to an immediate confrontation. After shooting Carlito, Sigfredo then has to leave and take his family as well to prevent himself any danger. Reggie, after being abandoned by Carlito, who Earl asked to take care of, attacks and kidnaps Artie Jr. outside of his house, with the help of two other thugs. After Reggie gets the ransom, he leaves Artie Jr. in the trunk of a car to die, but he is released by police and returns to his family.
The Bottolotta Family blames Carlito, Rocco, and Earl, who left with his girlfriend to get married, for assisting Reggie in the kidnapping. Artie Sr. puts out a contract on Carlito, Rocco and Earl until Reggie and his men are dead. The hitman contracted to kill them, Nacho Reyes (Luis Guzmán), and Hollywood Nicky's driver help them find the two hoodlums who were with Reggie. Nacho tortures the two men to death and they give their dismembered body parts to Artie Sr. Carlito and Nacho find Reggie in an apartment, along with Earl who flew back to New York due to the situation. The four men draw guns, Nacho holding two revolvers and Carlito holding a revolver and Reggie threatens Carlito, preparing to fire on him. Earl chooses Carlito over Reggie, and murders his brother, sobbing over his body afterwards. Nacho leaves and Carlito, Earl and Rocco work for the Bottolotta Family, dealing heroin. The Bottolottas have them deal heroin for them, and then dismiss the three.
Carlito and Earl pay off the N.Y.P.D., the team led by the most corrupt, feared cops in Harlem to raid and kill the entire Bottolotta Family. Carlito, Rocco and Earl fly to the islands with Earl for his wedding. Earl retires, and Carlito reunites with Leticia, retiring temporarily.

Review: I am a huge fan of the original Carlito's Way and when I heard about this, I thought it would be just like almost all the other sequels that come out in Hollywood.
Now, if any of you reading this are a Carlito's Way fan, you know a lot of the story in the first one has to do with him going to jail.*VERY MINOR SPOILER* I wont ruin anything, because this may actually make you not want to waste 2 hours watching this trash.
The actor who played Carlito did not do too bad a job, but he could not have saved this film if he tried.
Big mistake on their part, why cast the same actor for a different character, it made the movie worse than it already was.Bottom line, I am a Carlito's Way fan, this new straight to DVD release is a disgrace.
In the 60's, the Puerto Rican Carlito Brigante (Jay Hernandez), the Afro-American Earl (Mario Van Peebles) and the Italian Rocco (Michael Kelly) become best friends while in prison.
When Earl decides to move to Barbados with his girlfriend and leave the heroin business, his stupid younger brother causes a situation with the Italian mobsters, and Carlito and Rocco have to resolve the mess to save their lives."Carlito's Way: Rise to Power" is not as bad as written in many reviews in IMDb. Actually it is a good story, with the beginning of the criminal life of Carlito, showing his ability to negotiate.
I do not dare to compare this movie with the excellent Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way, but I personally liked the explanations of the criminal life of Carlito and his friends.
Those who think "Scarface" was some kind of hero to be looked up to or saw "Goodfellas", "Menace II Society" or "Dead Presidents" and thought MMM "That's the life for me!" will like this movie.
Maybe the worst part of this film is the casting for the lead role Carlito Brigante, whichever way you look at it everybody expects a Pacino, but casting Jay Hernandez is a let down, even though he is a fine actor, he really had a lot to do to try and follow in Pacino's shoes, and i am afraid to say he failed dismally.
I would suggest you take a look at this movie, forget about the original Carlito's Way, and just enjoy it for what it is..
After I watched this S@*T FEST movie, I sat down and watched the original Carlitos way to get th bad taste out of my mouth.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the appalling average rating here on IMDb for this movie, someone somewhere must have given this movie a real low rating based on the trailer or on someone else's word rather than watching the whole thing themselves.Anyone with an I.Q. over 50 would have seen this film what it is, an intelligent well acted prequel to a modern day classic, yes it doesn't have a blockbuster cast or a huge budget BUT it is still very well done and had me hooked for the full duration.
For those that have seen Carlito's Way but are unsure about watching the prequel all I can say is that you will be losing out if you give this movie a miss based on a lack-lustre trailer.
Carlito's Way: Rise to Power is a prequel to the film Carlito's Way. Without giving too much away though, the film's end doesn't fit to the beginning of the original, and thus is a bit of a disappointment.
So, taking Carlito's Way: Rise to Power as a film in it's own right, it does quite well.
American director Brian De Palma's best known work is probably the 1983 crime epic Scarface starring Al Pacino, but its thematic companion piece Carlito's Way (1993) has plenty of fans too.
Of course, eventually a prequel was produced for the latter, chronicling the eponymous Carlito's initial rise to the status he wishes to relinquish in the original film.At the beginning in the 1960s, Puerto Rican hoodlum Carlito Brigante (Jay Hernandez) is doing time for petty crimes when he meets two incarcerated criminal bosses in the prison.
Making the 1960s setting more evident could have added a nice touch to the whole though.Since we already know the conclusion of Carlito Brigante's story from the first movie, the prequel does not feel the need to examine his actions from a moral point of view very much.
Mario Van Peebles delivers one of the best performances in the movie, as does the always good Luis Guzmán as a hit-man Nacho Reyes, a role different from what he played in the first film.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' role as Hollywood Nicky remains pretty forgettable though, partly due to the way the character has been written, partly to Combs' emotionless 'cool' appearance.For a straight-to-DVD movie Carlito's Way: Rise to Power succeeds far better than could be expected.
Having read some of the negative reviews, I approached this with low expectations, but straight away was surprised by the good cast and classy production values, which were much higher than the usual movies released straight to DVD.
Although not specifically a prequel, as it seems to be set in the same decade as the Pacino film, it stars the likable Hernandez playing the same charismatic character.
too bad for him I don't think he will be playing in film anymore and by the way after I watched this sh#$%ty movie, I sat down and watched the original Carlitos way to get the bad taste out of my mouth..
An insult to the original Carlito's Way. Soon after watching this film you will realize why it didn't even make it to the theaters!
Instead this is a common theme in Hollywood, rip off previously good movies with disastrous prequels, sequels, etc.This film's plot was bouncing all over the place like a ping pong ball, and the character development was non-existent.
I seriously felt like I was watching a comedy at some points in the movie because the acting was so bad.
P Diddy needs to stop tainting movies with his horrible acting, he actually made me laugh every time.The only good thing that comes out of this movie is Jaclyn DeSantis, who looks excellent in this movie and actually brought some enjoyment from watching this film.If you are a big Carlito's Way fan, I recommend you not watch this.
What makes Carlitos Way a truly amazing movie was the sheer fact of storytelling and characters that explain how he got to where he was.Shame on whoever greenlit this project.Prequel?
I actually like this movie, But the guy who played Carlito wasn't bad, but i think he didn't really hit the character so well.
If you watch this try not to think too much of the original movie, just like many other comments suggested...In my honest opinion my favorite character in this movie was Reggie, one really messed up dude, with a rotten and spoiled attitude.
I haven't read the book nor watched the original Carlito's Way...
The reason people would watch this DVD would be either they saw the original, saw Sean Combs' name on the box, or they love the movies in this genre.
Besides, consider how many "new" people might watch this and not feel alienated because they didn't see the original Carlito's Way. P.S. Thank you for not doing any of that "flashback" stuff that they did on the second Godfather.
Did any of you actually read the books that the Carlito's Way movies was based on.
One thing the others said I can confirm, the actor who is playing Carlito wasn't that good, but probably if you don't (have to) compare him to Pacino the nice story and the intelligent plot are are making up for that and the movie is worth watching it.Obviously did the Pacino Carlitos way start at another point as this one is ending, so a lot of people were confused.
So I think if they just would have called the movie another way and the main character wouldn't have the name Carlito but Karl Ernst von Halmacken-Reuter, or whatever, even those guys would have liked this movie, too.So, if you have a choice, first watch this one and enjoy it, and after that watch Pacino, and enjoy both..
Seeing it before Carlito's Way was why I thought it was a good movie.
Jay H did a terrific job as Carlito.Seeing it before Carlito's Way was why I thought it was a good movie.
Jay H did a terrific job as Carlito.Seeing it before Carlito's Way was why I thought it was a good movie.
Jay H did a terrific job as Carlito.Seeing it before Carlito's Way was why I thought it was a good movie.
Jay H did a terrific job as Carlito.Seeing it before Carlito's Way was why I thought it was a good movie.
Jay H did a terrific job as Carlito.Seeing it before Carlito's Way was why I thought it was a good movie.
A prequel to the much-followed classic "Carlito's Way" endeavours to present a back-story to Carlito Brigante (played here underwhelmingly by Jay Hernandez).
Given the movie is supposedly a prequel, therefore essentially a homage to the original, the story tries too hard to detach itself from future occurrence and feels more like a stand-alone movie.
Meanwhile - despite his best intentions - Jay Hernandez in no way reminds you of Al Pacino's character, therefore increasing the disconnect.Acting is general well-rounded, if unremarkable, while the story and execution gives off a tiresome feel, as utterly repetitive and forgettable.
It is like watching 'L.A. Takedown' as opposed to 'Heat'.Luis Guzman is good (as always() in it, but shockingly playing a different character than he was playing in Brian DePalma's Carlito's Way. That I found very odd.Obviously a smaller budget than it's predecessor, don't be expecting massive wide location shots, and helicopter viewpoints of 70's Harlem, coz homie, you be getting 2 heads MAX in a shot at any given time.
but there needs to be a exciting action scene like the chase in the train station in carlito's way.........Anyway bottom line is that the film is worth watching when there;s nothing good on.........
(This is not an objective review but a personal rant about what might have been) The plot of this movie follows the early days of Carlito, as he rises to power and prestige in the drug world.
He's a perfect case of a bad director turning fillet Mignon in to sloppy joes.If you liked the first movie you may want to try this, but I'd either do something else while watching, or turn off the TV and just listen to the sound through the sound system since it plays better as a radio play.5 out of 10 for a good script and cast..
In other words; I absolutely love the original "Carlito's Way" and I'm sad to say that this prequel is nowhere in the same league as the first and original movie!
For the rest of the movie he actually comes across as a very nice guy, which probably is being another good indication how miscast Jay Hernandez is in his role.
Throughout his career he has always played friendly guys, so why even consider him casting in a tough gangster role, that first got immortalized by Al Pacino, in 1993.The movie also absolutely tells you nothing about the background or youth of Carlito.
It doesn't tells you anything new, at least nothing interesting and you are obviously way better off watching the original "Carlito's Way" instead and forget about this movie.But it's not just simply the casting or characters themselves that make this movie a poor and disappointing one.
This movie really doesn't get pleasantly told, which makes you feel glad when the movie is finally over.Bad as a genre flick and even worse as a prequel to "Carlito's Way"!4/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
So young television actor Jay Hernandez was given a shot at a prequel film, Carlito's Way: The Rise To Power.It was hoped that this film would make Jay Hernandez a major star.
He is a most charismatic young man and hopefully will get a second big break.What Pacino did in the first Carlito's Way was create a portrait of an aging Latino gangster who would just like to live without any more hassles.
Gant is inflamed by all the revolutionary rhetoric of the Sixties and Seventies, but in actuality just proves to be a punk.In the original Carlito's Way, Sean Penn had a major role as a criminal defense lawyer who decides to go in business for himself as a gangster.
To be quite honest, this movie would have been much better without the tag of Carlito's Way but it's a money making scheme and there's nothing wrong with that.The movie is just lighthearted mob-like fun and I thought it was nice to see Mario van Peebles in a different role for a change (not as a b-movie hero that kicks butt).
But if you're looking for a serious movie about the mob or a serious prequel to Carlito's Way, then don't pick this title up.
As a gangster film in itself, if we were to ignore the fact that it is a prequel to 'Carlito's way' (1992, Depalma version) is again extremely unsatisfactory.
Obviously the director decided to do something totally different compared to the first 'Carlito's way' but what a miserable failure it is.Finally, would i recommend this movie to anyone?
If you count watching boring movies a pleasure then you may do so however for those who have seen all the excellent gangster movies such as scar face, casino, goodfellas and Carlito's way, Rise to Power falls short of this genre..
They have just totally spat in the face of every Carlito's Way fan out there; adding insult to injury by casting Luis Guzman, who plays a crucial character in the original movie, in a different role.What's most disappointing is that now that this film has been made no other film will be made addressing the original, untouched material of the book Carlito's Way - something I really would have liked to have seen.
Now we will never get to see Carlito's real initial rise and fall.The three stars is because, looking at it purely as a stand-alone flick, it is not so appalling - there are some decent performances (Jay Hernandez is no Carlito but he could be good in other roles) and the story is not too bad.
It's a prequel because it comes before Carlito's Way, the sequel.It obviously didn't tell of his relationship with Gail, or what put him in jail.
Doesn't make Episode 3 a horrible prequel does it?If you want, make up your own "Carlito's Way: Downfall," I don't care, but don't say it was a horrible movie.
The only way you could even have a clue about what kind of person Carlito was, is to watch the original.
The movie and acting are not bad and Jay Hernandez does a good job playing Calito Brigante but the movie forgets it's suppose to be a prequel to a hit movie.
The makers of this prequel clearly did not watch the original Carlito's Way or at least did not care about continuity.
Luis Guzman, Pachanga in the original, is in the movie but he plays a completely different character.
Jay Hernandez captures the look and feel of Pacino's Carlito well, and Mario Van Peebles takes his "Baaaaadaaaaaaassss" role a step further and turns on the soul once again for this film.
HE PLAYS A DIFFERENT CHARACTER THAN HE DID IN THE ORIGINAL CARLITO'S WAY.
The whole point of the original film was that Carlito had loyalty to his friends and the people he was doing business with.
This movie has no relation to the story of Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way. I mean, where's Pachanga?
The sex scene was weak but we got to see her..which was okay...But overall I expected it shed light on how Carito ended up in prison and the love of his life...And the assassin towards the end completely added to the horrendous movie that is...Carlito's Way: Rise to Power...
While this was not quite as good as the first one, I really think that Jay Hernandez did a great job of portraying Carlito in the early years.
I think he was in the first book.I also like how Mr. Guzman plays a totally different character in this film.
the plot was OK , but they should have changed round some actors and some of the story line and the name of the film and it would have been a good film .i really expected it to end like the other one started.
None of the primary characters in the original film were in this movie.
We're supposed to believe that Carlito met all these people in the span of a few years.Rise to Power ends with Carlito walking down the beach talking about retiring in paradise which is what he wanted to do in the original film.
It's also hard to understand how Carlito could have the relationship with the Italians he has in the original film watching the events of Rise to Power.
The film had some good moments but I think they would have been better off leaving this movie to stand by itself instead of trying to make it a prequel to Carlito's Way.If you feel determined to see this movie, the only advice I can give is to not think of the movie as a linear pre-quel.
I absolutely loved the Original Carlito's Way; the movie was exceptional.
Finally, You see nothing of the guy in the wheelchair in the original, or the guy Carlito tells he is "retired".After watching this movie you will see that it seems that there should be another film between the two.
I watched this movie and the original Carlitos Way back to back.
Rise to Power is just a movie that has Carlito's name.