Brain De Palma reteamed with Al Pacino for a second Disco era mob tale w/ big collars & easy cocaine dollars just as the rep of their initially reviled SCARFACE remake was morphing into a streetwise cult phenom. But with no historical moment to latch onto (like SCARFACE’s Miami boat exiles), the petty-ante storyline won’t support the running time. Sean Penn has fun playing Pacino’s coked up lawyer (he loves being slightly taller than his co-star who can be glimpsed wearing 4" heels in one scene). But in trying to outdo each other, these guys have rarely been so hammy, often losing actorly control (just listen to Pacino’s wayward accent). De Palma announces each of his set pieces like the coming of the Lord, but only the finale in Grand Central is worth all the bother. A riverboat rub-out, which should be the dramatic high watermark of the pic, is a stagy, foggy mess.
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