The Lost Interest in Scarface 2
The real reason that there was never a Scarface 2 is that the interest in it was lost and there was no more drive to see the son of Tony Montana take up the role his old man had been forced to vacate. It does sound as though Brian De Palma was ready to go, as was Michelle Pfieffer, but nothing ever happened on it and the project just faded away. The other reason, of course, is that Tony Montana was finally executed at the end of the first movie, and no matter that a comic book series was created detailing how Montana survived (his body was so coked up it didn’t realize it had died) the live-action version was over and done with. The idea of anyone taking over this classic is kind of hard to fathom no matter that De Palma did take the idea from a previous gangster movie. There is apparently a remake in the works, but this time using a Mexican individual to play the role of Scarface. How this will go is hard to say since the reality of the story is something that can’t really be denied considering that cocaine is still a problem. But trying to top Al Pacino’s role as the titular character does feel as though it might a risky proposition simply because this movie was and still is iconic. Thinking anyone can match it or top the story sounds more than a little ambitious. It can likely be done, but the fact is that it’s not going to be easy. Trying to follow in the footsteps of those that created the version that so many people know isn’t something to be taken lightly since that group of actors, of which several still remain, managed to create a story that people still know front to back and treasure in a very real way.
Should Scarface Be Left Alone?
In all honesty, this feels like a movie that should be left alone and not remade or rebooted in any way since it was good enough as it was, and it still is. Too many movies keep getting the reboot and remake treatment only to fall short of the mark even if they’re not actively trying to outdo the source material, but this time it’s possible that no one is going to pull off the same type of story that De Palma came up with. He might have taken the inspiration for his story from another, earlier version, but he adapted the movie to the time period and made it work in a way that took full advantage of what was going on in the world. I get it, many are thinking that someone could come along and do the same exact thing this time around, but it feels like more than a cheap way to get inspiration for a movie. To be real, it sounds like a bad idea from the get-go, especially since there are a lot of fans that would be primed and ready to say ‘I told you so’. But the thing about filmmakers is that like so many others they have a vision and as it’s been seen, their vision is either going to be embraced by those that think they know what’s going to work best, or by those who are simply too worried about looking foolish if they voice anything but a positive opinion. In other words, Scarface should be one movie that’s left alone in order to let it stand as the timeless classic that it is.
The Challenge of Retelling a Classic
That’s not bound to happen since there’s always going to be someone that thinks that they can improve upon a classic. In some cases, this is accurate since there are movies that only get better and in some cases more interesting with each telling. Scarface really needs someone that knows what they’re doing in order to retell the story though, since it’s a tale that still carries a lot of bearing in the world today, especially in the current time period. Going after a movie idea like this with anything but the type of focus that’s absolutely needed is like trying to create a classic piece of art with a child’s paintbrush, it’s definitely possible, but only if the artist is just that good. Right now it doesn’t feel that there’s anyone out there that’s quite good enough to follow in De Palma’s footsteps with this idea since a Mexican version of Scarface might be different, but it doesn’t feel as though it would deliver the same punch that De Palma’s version delivered in such great fashion. Quite honestly it was a good idea to lose interest in a sequel since without Tony Montana, Scarface is a story that could be told by anyone. The only problem is that it wouldn’t be worth nearly as much to the audience.
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