Well, that was long and entirely predictable. There seems to be an affinity for organized crime movies that has infected nearly everyone on the Internet. But as readers of this blog know, I was underwhelmed by several movies from the genre in the past, including the Godfather saga and Goodfellas, to name a few. Forgive me, but the same old story, time and again, just gets a little tired. Ambitious up-and-comer makes waves, kills people, earns respect. He makes it big, betraying (or being betrayed by) close friends and mentors in the process. Power and success go to his head. Soon he loses everyone and everything he loves. And so the story goes, time and time again. Scarface was a fine movie - a good one, even, with another memorable performance from Al Pacino - but it was also just another movie about organized crime where even the greatest performances couldn't overshadow the same old story. Perhaps I'm being unfair in my critique. Aren't all war movies more or less the same? All romantic comedies? All political thrillers? All stoner comedies? Genres are "generic" for a reason, after all. I guess I'm at a point in my life where I'd rather see a unique movie - even one that doesn't totally work - than a particularly well-executed timeless classic. Scarface is probably better than most movies I've seen, but that doesn't mean I found it to be one of the most interesting, compelling, or well-made ones. Remove a few iconic lines and scenes, and frankly, there's nothing left to Scarface. That's my take, anyway.
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