Opened: December 9, 1983

Directed By: Brian De Palma

Starring: Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, Miriam Colón, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin, Ángel Salazar, Arnaldo Santana, Pepe Serna, Michael P. Moran, Al Israel, Dennis Holahan, Mark Margolis, Michael Alldredge, Ted Beniades & Albert Carrier

Though an iconic movie based on title and character’s alone, Scarface doesn’t live up to the hype that it gets.

Tony Montana (Al Pacino) comes to South Florida as a Cuban refugee and mentors as a drug lord with his friend Manny (Steven Bauer) under the powerful Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia). Tony wants Frank’s wife Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer) for himself and is very protective of his younger sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio).

Two of the action scenes alone – the chainsaw scene toward the beginning and the all-out final battle – are enough to make the film worth watching. However, there’s not a whole lot of plot in the middle, which makes its almost three-hour runtime a bit obnoxious. None of the characters are overly developed and you feel stuck with stereotypes.

Final say: Worth one watch – but that’s it. ★★★☆☆