In Carlito's Way: Rise to Power, upstart petty criminal Carlito Brigante (Jay Hernandez) forms a prison alliance with Rocco (Michael Kelly), a low level wiseguy, and Earl (Mario Van Peebles), a successful Harlem numbers runner, to control the east Harlem drug trade. To the partnership each brings his own level of skill - Carlito his street corner distribution team; Rocco his connection to the drug-supplying Italian mafia; and Earl his business savvy and the charm to convince the ruling Harlem drug king, Hollywood Nicky (Sean Combs in an amateurish performance) to allow the trio to operate near his turf. MORE >>>

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With the barriers to entering the drug game overcome, the three amigos make moves that produce bulging bags of bills, flashy clothes and beautiful women. With so much going right, what could possibly go wrong? Well, anything once you toss two underachieving brothers and a vengeful father into the mix.

Rise to Power, directed by Michael Bregman, is a prequel to director Brian de Palma's 1993 film Carlito's Way that starred Al Pacino. Rise to Power is based on Edwin Torres' first gangster novel, Carlito's Way, which tells the story of young Carlito, and the second title, After Hours, picks up Carlito's story when the kingpin is in his 40s. After Hours was the first of the novels to be adapted into a screenplay, which was eventually made into the film, entitled Carlito's Way.

Unfortunately, whereas the film Carlito's Way is a compelling character study of a middle aged criminal desiring to leave the life, Rise to Power is neither compelling nor a focused examination of the young Brigante. Instead, the director's lens in Rise to Power shifts about to capture the environment and circumstances that combine to create bandits name Charlie.

Filmed on location in New York City, the vibrant Harlem setting gives the film an air of authenticity that slightly bolsters the narrative. A documentary included on the DVD interestingly notes the special measures necessary to capture a 1960's setting in a rapidly gentrifying Harlem.

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