American Gangster

Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Armand Assante, Carla Gugino, Ruby Dee, Common
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Box Office:
2007

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) rises to the top of the drug trafficking industry by importing drugs from Asia. On his trail is a New York cop (Russell Crowe) determined to bring him to justice.

Review:

Tim: I seriously think the cop-drug kingpin genre of crime thriller needs to take a break for a few years. The tough thing for me is that I find the movie so appealing. It is hard for me to not enjoy a well-made film in this genre. American Gangster is a well-made film, although I wish it had been a little better.

It is great to see Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe together again. I also liked seeing the reversal of roles. In Virtuosity, Washington was the good guy and Crowe was the bad guy. Here, they switch, and it's interesting to watch. Washington is quite good as Frank Lucas. He has a certain talent for playing the bad guy. Although he's not as good as he is in Training Day, he's still quite enjoyable to watch. I wish he had more scenes to really stretch his acting ability. Crowe also puts in a good performance, although it is one marked by restraint. I really wish these two men would have had more screen time together. They do have one big moment, the first time they share the screen together, that is particularly memorable.

The rest of the cast is fairly good as well. Although Chiwetel Ejiofor doesn't have a great deal to do, it was still entertaining seeing him here. Cuba Gooding, Jr. also makes an unlikely appearance. Josh Brolin is fairly menacing in his corrupt role. Ruby Dee was decent, but I was surprised she received so much critical attention for her role.

American Gangster suffers from the typical epic crime drama problems- namely, the long, long running length. I watched the unrated version, which was just under three hours long. While the film moves at a quick pace and doesn't get bogged down, it is still a long time to sit through a movie. Expertly, the movie makes a switch in the last twenty or thirty minutes, which changes up the pace, and infuses the film with additional energy. I did enjoy the movie, and I recommend it.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Blow, Virtuosity, Training Day, Serpico