IMDb #112 Review: Scarface (1983)

Source: Wikipedia

A rough-edged tough-talking Cuban immigrant achieves the American dream -- fortunately, karma and law enforcement remind us it's a crock. Meanwhile, the titular antihero bends the world to his will, by the power of gravitational friendliness and gigantic adamantium balls.

This guy crawls up from the gutter -- shooting a Communist for a Green Card, scrubbing dishes in a roadside food stand -- to a key position in the coke trade. Mostly by accident. Also by a bloody negotiation breakdown which leaves several positions open.

He represents his boss to his boss's boss in Bolivia, speaking for the scary people with guns and money. He proposes marriage to the boss's girl at the man's own pool. It's incredible that his stomach hasn't swollen to galactic proportions with all the guts packed in there.

As usual for a career man, family relationships deteriorate like they're doused in acid. His mother refuses blood money; his sister wants to date men, but he's unreasonably protective of her and her afro.

The easiest way to turn a success story into a tragedy is to keep telling the story. Now at the top, he skis downhill off a mountain of cocaine into the canyon of deep shit.

Strangely enough, it's his uncompromising moral standards that ruin him. He wants the best for his kid sister, and kills to make sure of it. He won't hurt kids, and blows off the big boss to show it.

His personal gravity also makes him a bullet magnet.

This angry awkward Cuban and his weird cocky slur deserve their place in the movie museum of immortality. As does the final shootout in his villa, the last stand of a fascinating idiot who stuck to his guns till the guns stuck to him.

170 minutes.