what's shocking about " carlito's way " is how good it is . 
having gotten a bit of a bad rap for not being a big box office hit like pacino's previous film , " scent of a woman , " and not having as strong a performance as he did in that one ( he had just won an oscar ) , " carlito's way " was destined for underrated heaven . 
that's what it is : an underrated gem of a movie . 
and what a shame because pacino and de palma both do amazing jobs with it , and turn it into a great piece of a pulpy character study . 
 " carlito's way " deals with , well , carlito brigante ( pacino ) , a puerto rican ex-drug kingpin , who gets out of a long jailterm when his coke-addicted , curly-haired lawyer ( sean penn ) points out a legal technicality . 
of course , carlito was actually awoken in prison , and has decided to go straight , even if he's really a crook at heart . 
carlito , like barry lyndon , is a man who is trapped by fate at every turn , and can't escape into something he is not . 
carlito's attempts at a clean , legal life are thwarted at nearly every turn . 
when he first gets out , a friend of his ends up leading him into a big shoot-out , where he has to kill a couple people to survive . 
he's constantly getting bugged by the government to see if he's doing anything illegal , and his lawyer finds himself neck-deep in a pile of shit , needing him to try and help him out , which includes him doing some prison breaking . 
carlito , like ratso rizzo , wants to go to miami ( since , according to film logic , that's where it's at ) , but needs some funding . 
being a legend , he is quickly able to get a nice job running a big dance club ( this is the 70s , by the way , and since some of this takes place in night clubs , we get to hear all sorts of 70s classics , including several k . c . 
and the sunshine band tunes - my personal favorite ) . 
he gets a bodyguard ( the great luis guzman , at his best ) , and is soon running a pretty good business , even if he's constantly attracting underworld young thugs , like benny blanco " from the bronx " ( john leguiziamo ) , who is more than once pointed out to be a young version of carlito . 
on the other side , the symbol of promise and hope , is gail ( penelope ann miller - what happened to her ? ) , his girlfriend from before prison . 
she's a goregeous ballerina , and a stripper , and soon carlito is trying to get back with her , and take her with him when he finally leaves for miami . 
while this relationship is never fully defined or anything , we get a sense of love between them , and they have some truly interesting scenes between them ( she never gives him addresses or locales - he always has to track her down ) . 
all of these elements clash together at the end , in a brilliantly executed , emotional climax , which is inevitable . 
when i say inevitable , i mean we see it at the beginning and then backtrack , putting a great spin on it . 
sure , it's going to eleveate some of the tension , but it gives the film a lot of depth , as carlito is seen trapped by fate . 
what's amazing is the big chase sequence ( amazingly done by de palma ) has a lot of tension and thrills . 
like " apollo 13 , " we know what's going to happen , but we're still thrilled by what happens in the middle . 
it's also very emotional , thanks to a great script by david koepp , and amazing performances by pacino and miller . 
de palma is famous ( or infamous ) for lots of violence in his films . 
his earlier flim , " scarface " ( which starred pacino in the lead ) , has a ton of it , especially at the end ( and a nasty chainsaw scene towards the beginning which i'm still not over ) . 
but de palma actually reigns in more quieter scenes . 
to me , the best scene in the film is when carlito is on top of a building , looking down into the room where gail is doing ballet . 
this is the most brilliantly done , and most emotionally stimulating scene in the entire film , and probably the best in de palma film history . 
with a gorgeous soprano duet in the background , and rain pouring down onto a trashcan lid covering carlito's head , and a saddened , remorseful look on pacino's face , it's a tear-jerker ( well , for me , i dunno about you . . . ) . 
the acting from all is great , especially from the three leads . 
pacino was panned for his performance , chiefly because his accent wasn't puerto rican enough and , well , it wasn't as " strong " as his oscar-winning role in " scent of a woman . " 
well , his " scent of a woman " performance was great and all , but it was nothing really but , as comic kevin pollack said , a " foghorn leghorn impression . " 
in " carlito's way , " he's emotional , and strong , despite the fact that he's remorseful over his entire lifestyle , which he cannot change . 
i felt more for carlito brigante than i did for the tango-dancing , insult-throwing blind guy in " scent of a woman . " 
as i said , penelope ann miller is great , and she and pacino actually have very good chemistry . 
and they're scenes are well-written , with some good clever dialogue which adds some interest to an otherwise bland relationship . 
and sean penn is amazing as the coke-addicted rat attorney . 
every scene he's in , he has great energy , and even measures up to the greatness that is pacino . 
in smaller roles , john leguiziamo and luis guzman are great . 
 " carlito's way " is one of those films which you heard about briefly , but when you finally watch it , you're absolutely blown away . 
it's a wonderful film , a highly underrated little masterpiece which was shelved after it didn't do so hot . 
but trust me and check it out . 
it's a great little film , and proof that the residential critics and mass populus are not always right .