American Gangster

Ridley Scott's new flick American Gangster was a good one. Though Im not gonna be saying it's the best film of the year or anything like that. It was directed well, barely any dull scenes, great acting by an enormous cast and was really well-written. Unfortunately the story never seemed "new" to me. I was reminded of other drug-related/crime movies, like BLOW, CITY OF GOD, and evening TRAINING DAY....."My Man". Though it's in the leagues as being entertaining as the above mentioned movies, it really just never felt like I was watching a "new" story. But speaking of story, I never knew anything about Frank Lucas, and his story is fantastic. A black man who was more influential than his Mafian brethren? Tell me you're kidding. Nope, he was a force in Harlem back in the late 60s and early 70s and barely anyone knows about it. But for me this area of the film was the only stand out part. Sure there are other good scenes, done well, but nothing worth mentioning. Well, scratch that, naked women workin in a drug lab was an eye-opening scene.

Denzel Washington won the Oscar when he portrayed the crooked cop in Training Day who said "My Man" all the time. Well, in the American Gangster you got him saying this line again, and by God does he have it down. There are scenes when you know he's gonna say it, and he still pulls it off incredibly well. Denzel is one actor you really never have to worry about it in the acting department. You've got Russell "Mr. Oscar" Crowe playing the other lead, and like always, he always has the character down. He was great in this flick, the accent, the mannerisms, all of it. Though, his character's story was interesting in that he was in charge of the case to figure out who the big boy druglords were, his side story with his wife was for me the "dull" parts of the film. They were well-acted and all that, but mostly, it was just character development that isn't needed. Russell Crowe's good enough an actor to portray a struggling cop without a family problem. And also let me say Josh Brolin as the crooked cop was great. I didn't need a side-story of him doing tons of drugs and banging prostitutes....but ya know he was doing it.

American Gangster was a really good flick. It had amazing acting mixed with scenes that shed a new light on drug-trafficking....or should I say Old light. Though since there are so many other drug/crime cop films out there it seems a little been there done that. But don't let that sway you if you enjoy good movies and or crime films. And also, Frank Lucas is one hell of an interesting personality. My man. 8.5 outta 10

Watch American Gangster without preconceived ideas. While the film is long it never drags. You don't get the sense that you've seen this movie before. It's not Serpico. It's not The Wire. It's not The Sopranos. While much is going on, the story is easy to follow. There is action, but this isn't an "action movie".

Both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe act convincingly and give depth to their characters.

The film leaves you wanting to know more about about happened to the lead characters. You care about them that much. Now *that's* film making.

It's 1968 Harlem. Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) is the right hand man to Robin Hood gangster Bumpy Johnson. When Bumpy dies, Frank tries to take over. He becomes a powerful gangster importing heroin directly from the South East Asian jungle source. Detective Trupo (Josh Brolin) leads a group of corrupt cops reselling seized drugs back on the street. Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is a rough and tumble honest cop who tracks down the source for the heroine which killed his partner. Meanwhile Lucas faces against mob boss Dominic Cattano (Armand Assante) and Trupo.

It's a vast interconnected crime drama with deep complex well-written characters played by some of the best actors around. It's gritty and dark with good flashes of the Ridley Scott style. It references the French Connection. It doesn't have quite the immediate realism of the documentary style movie. However, Scott is able to meticulously recreate it. Both Washington and Crowe are powerful in their separate sides of the story.

Excellent crime-drama.

The story of Frank Lucas, the man who built a massive drug empire largely from scratch, and Richie Roberts, the outcast cop who took him down. Shows Lucas' rise to power, through ingenuity, business sense and plain ruthlessness and how he managed to fly under the police's (and many other people's) radar for so long. Also shows how the cops eventually pinpointed him as the drug kingpin they were after, their investigations and how they eventually got him.

Great storytelling from director Ridley Scott. He builds the details, and shows the history of the two protagonists, in parallel for a while. Then he builds the tension as everything comes together. In the end you have a great no-pretence, gritty, almost old-fashioned film noir gangster movie.

Great work by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in the lead roles. Good supporting cast too.

On the negative side, there are a few sub-plots and scenes which seem unnecessary (eg the Cuba Gooding angle). In addition, there are some turns of events that seem implausible, especially towards the end (eg Roberts as both cop and prosecutor). This doesn't take too much away from quality of the movie though.

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.