American Gangster

Scott managed to weave two stories together into an epic crime drama. Washington rules the screen with each scene he's in and Crowe is solid, if not spectacular. Other than those two, this film is much more about the story that it is the characters. Still, this film is highly entertaining if not a bit lengthy.

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")

American Gangster is one of the best movies i've recently seen and it is a pleasure to watch even if you are not a gangster movies fan. The story is more captivating than i expected i must say, following Frank Lucas(Denzel Washington) - the afro-American drug lord who raised above all, even the Italian mafia - and Richie Roberts(Russel Crowe), the honest cop in a city full of corruption, sort of Frank Serpico but with less guts.

Denzel Washington delivers a marvelous performance of a man calm and patient yet heart-stopping ferocious at some points, fearless and ambitious but likable as always. His performances are always incredible, he's a great actor, the greatest afro-American actor of all time i dare to say, it's simply a pleasure to watch him in any role.

Russel Crowe delivers a good performance, he's one of the actors that never disappoint in my opinion and i think there's a great chemistry between them (Washington and Crowe) even though few scenes bring them face to face. Richie Roberts is in danger for being one of the few cops that actually do their jobs and refuse to take bribe so i think there's a big resemblance between Richie Roberts and Frank Serpico (Al Pacino 1973).

Cuba Gooding Jr. could have gotten a bigger part, or more scenes because he's a very talented actor and he proved himself many times that he's more than capable of delivering excellent performances.

The drama is less than expected but the movie is very well paced and it never gets boring even if it lasts more than two hours. Everything fits perfectly and there is an excellent antithetical presentation of the wealthy life of Frank Lucas opposite to the lives that he's drugs ruin every day, every hour, every minute...

I strongly recommend to gangster movies fans, actually to those viewers who enjoy good movies because this movie is above average and you will enjoy every second of it.

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.

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