The film proved that the director hadn't lost his touch, despite controversy that he had cast an Italian-American--and not for the first time--as a Latino character. Unsteady accent aside, Pacino's heartfelt performance helped to win over many skeptics

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 18, 2024

Pacino and especially Penn are terrific, and De Palma again masterminds a pair of superb set-pieces.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 12, 2023

The performances here are what needs to be viewed, they make the film what it is. They are powerful and just right...

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Sep 30, 2023

Dreams can die but nightmares can flourish, an understanding brought about by the disillusionment that every De Palma hero experiences.

| Sep 26, 2023

...a top-tier endeavor from a decidedly erratic filmmaker.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 31, 2021

Carlito's sincerity, severity, and confidence - matched once again with the poetry of lavish tumult - are thoroughly engaging.

| Original Score: 10/10 | Sep 11, 2020

The film's somber mood is balanced only by its larger-than-life performances, retro '70s threads, thrilling sequences, and plenty of sweaty disco tunes outside of Patrick Doyle's stellar score.

| Oct 18, 2018

Carlito's Way, Brian De Palma's return to the dangerous, violent world of Latino crime, marks yet another advance in the remarkable second act of Al Pacino's career.

| May 2, 2018

You expect a fine performance from Pacino, and, with hopeless, hollowed-out eyes, he gives it. You expect the worst from Sean Penn. But, here, he's a hit.

| Dec 7, 2017

Penn, in curled hair and wire-rims, makes a brilliant, slippery high-end shyster; his modulated hysteria is amazing. So is Brian De Palma's direction.

| Mar 23, 2015

Although still distinctly sleek a la de Palma, it's the rare instance in which romantic optimism & warm, careful character observation trump his penchant for coolly detached cynicism. It's not nihilistic, fetishistic or misogynistic. It's humanistic.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Dec 21, 2013

Perhaps the last great DePalma film, using his trademarks well but not overusing them.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 30, 2012

A lengthy cat-and-mouse chase scene at the film's climax practically surpasses Hitchcock and even gives Scorsese's GoodFellas a run for its money.

| Sep 23, 2006

As with so many De Palma films, Carlito's Way soon manifests as an essay on its own forms.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Sep 9, 2006

Pacino looks every inch a movie star, and De Palma provides a timely reminder of just how impoverished the Hollywood lexicon has become since the glory days of the '70s.

| Jun 24, 2006

| Original Score: 8/10 | Apr 7, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 27, 2006

A great story told by a master filmmaker; sterling actors playing some truly fascinating characters; and a bunch of cinematic set-pieces that are worthy of repeat viewings.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Oct 5, 2005

Stronger in its suspense and action elements than in its dramatic moments.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 21, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 7, 2005