Gánster americano

In 1968, the loyal driver, bouncer and collector Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) witnesses the death of his boss and mentor Bumpy Johnson (Clarence Williams III) and finds that Harlem lost its leadership. Frank decides to import heroin direct from the source in Bangkok, establishing a logistic of transportation using the US military airplanes from Vietnam to USA. The quality of his product associated to the trade mark "Blue Magic" and the lower prices bring Frank Lucas to the position of number one distributor of heroin in USA. Meanwhile, in the Essex County, the incorruptible detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) that is studying for the Bar Examination is invited to join and head a Federal Investigation Force of Narcotics, seeking the leaders of the dealers in North America.

"American Gangster" is a gangster movie based on the story of the powerful drug dealer Frank Lucas in times of Vietnam War, showing the absolute corruption in the police and the saga of an obstinate honest detective. The direction of Ridley Scott gives an adequate pace to the plot, supported by a magnificent cast leaded by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. In spite of being a good film, the IMDb User Rating Top 250: #210 is overrated. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Gangster" ("The Gangster")

The best thing this movie had going for it - which is no surprise - is the acting duo of Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. How many bad movies do you see with either of those guys starring in them? Not many, and neither actor disappoints here. Both play fascinating guys, Washington, a big gangster ("Frank Lucas") and Crowe, an honest cop ("Richie Roberts")

This movie reminded me a lot of the '83 "Scarface" film in which Tony Montana (Al Pacino) rises from the bottom up to be a big drug lord, only to have things crumble big-time. We see a similar tale here with "Lucas," except that his fall is sudden in this story, unlike Pacino's character.

Director Ridley Scott and photographer Harris Savides also give us a slick- looking film, very pretty spots and stylishly-directed.

The story wasn't quite as good as the people who photographed it and acted in it. It's still a good one in that it entertains. I was never bored despite the two- and-a-half-hour length of it. I was a bit confused in the first 25 minutes but things straightened out after that.

The supporting cast in here is very deep with a lot of familiar faces, going all the way back to 83-year-old Ruby Dee. A new, young face - Lamari Nadal - is a real beauty. She plays Frank's wife, who is a lot nicer character than the one Michelle Peiffer played in "Scarface."

A key to whether you enjoy this or not - if you haven't seen it - might be your expectations. Know in advance there is not a ton of action in this tough crime movie and don't listen to all the hype that this is "the best film of the year." Just expect a decent movie with good acting and instead of a lot of blood and guts, and you should enjoy it. That's how I looked at it, and it worked for me. It was entertaining enough for me that I'd watch it again.

I guess this is a fictional retelling of actual events. The character of Frank (Denzel Washington) is the story of a man, who because of his own issues with the abuse of being a black man with few prospects, driven to become "great." Unfortunately, his greatness is tied up in exporting pure heroin from Vietnam and selling it. He is a murderer, a liar, and every way a criminal. He is charming on the outside and deadly on the inside. There is no way that a thinking person could admire him. If his vendetta and his business were directed only at bad guys, we might think that it is OK. But he kills indiscriminately, many dying as innocent victims. Russell Crowe's prosecutor is determined and insightful. He is himself a loner (a role Crowe does well at in many films), but he must butt heads all the way along. He has committed a "crime." He has found and returned thousands of dollars in drug money found on a case. He is seen as a bit of an idiot and hence not on of "the guys." Everything plays out well. Two masterful actors doing what they do best. I think my most memorable scene is the one where they come upon the poppy fields in Vietnam where this stuff is being cooked and dried. It would be like going to SonyCorp or some big Asian business; but this is a factory used to make one of the most destructive substances. See this because it is a fascinating story and it is masterfully done.

American Gangster has been really hated upon in many of the former posts I have read. Yet it seems like they are all saying the same thing, that Gangster didn't have enough action and was really drawn out. Anyone who has every seen a Ridley Scott film will know that his films are long! Blade Runner, A Good Year, Matchstick Men, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, G.I. Jane, Thelma and Louis, and Alien all ran for at least two hours or more, so big surprise there guys. In addition Scott didn't set out to film another scarface, he set out to tell a story not just about Frank Lucas but rather a tale of corruption and how pervasive it is. One user commented that this film had many side story lines that "bloated" the story. This is completely untrue as every "side story" is actually the overarching story about the fight against corruption in every facet of life, even Frank Lucas attempts several times to eradicate the corruption in his organization.

Over all this is a great film which really gets into every nook and cranny of an issue. Don't see this film if your just looking for cheap thrills, this is a thinking film about the pervasive dishonesty of our culture.

I gave this film 8 stars because i could find nothing solid that detracted from it, but rather a slew of minor details which gradually brought its score down. But I will put this film in my top films for the year, if only because I have been immensely unsatisfied with the bulk of releases this year.

Unfortunately from listening to everyone else I was expecting some sort of masterpiece. That is not what I believe what I got. Yet it was still a very good movie.

The acting performances were also good but not great. Denzel Washington gave a very good performance but not Oscar worthy, it felt like I have seen this before from him. Russell Crowe just was not given the room to actually act. I wish Crowe would have been given more of an opportunity to show off his talent. Josh Brolin gave the best performance as a corrupt police officer. He displayed perfectly the corrupt cop blackmailing both sides for the benefit of himself. I do not really understand the Oscar nomination for Ruby Dee playing Frank Lucas mother. She barley even had a cameo in this movie. It is kind of sad to see how far Cuba Gooding Jr. has fallen not having much of a role in this movie.

What really kept this movie up and kind of brought it down was its steady flow and writing. It did show you some interesting things such as going to Vietnam and having a very unique and surprising place to smuggle in the drugs. Yet as I mentioned before the performances were good but not great because of the writing. I attribute this to the writing. Some of the writing did not allow some of the actors to expand as much as they could have on their roles.

Also the directing was very good but not great. Ridley Scott did show some interesting scenes and had good camera shot. The cinematography was good as well. Yet because the performances were not to great that brings him down because his job to guide arguably two of the best actors today.

This movie was a bit over-hyped but I would still recommend it. This probably could have received more recognition from the Oscars though.