this movie have potential and i be willing to give it a try but there be so many timeline problem that be so obvious it hard to swallow be treat like such an idiot . rise to power be set in the late sixty . carlito way be set in the mid to late seventy . for this movie to be realistic and it would have to be set in the fifty and if not the late forty . rise to power have no sign of gail ( pennelope ann miller ) and no sign of kleinfeld and no sign of rolando that carlito supposedly ran with in his hey day . none of the primary character in the original film be in this movie . be suppose to believe that carlito meet all these people in the span of a few year . rise to power end with carlito walk down the beach talk about retire in paradise which be what he want to do in the original film . also and the pre quel create the rocco and earl character what suppose to happen with them since they be clearly not in carlito way . it also hard to understand how carlito could have the relationship with the italian he have in the original film watch the event of rise to power . where be the taglialucci in this film . there be probably seven year between the two film and he spend five of them in prison . it like try to put a square plug into a round hole . it be obvious that no one be interested in tell a good story and that they be more interested in make some buck by make an average gangster film and throw a character call carlito brigante into the story . the film have some good moment but i think they would have be good off leave this movie to stand by itself instead of try to make it a prequel to carlito way . if you feel determine to see this movie and the only advice i can give be to not think of the movie a a linear pre quel . think of it like the spaghetti westerns with clint eastwood man with no name and in other word two movie that have the same character but aren not necessarily connect with each other .