Universal Pictures'

American Gangster

Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Dania Ramirez, Josh Brolin, Carla Gugino

Directed by: Ridley Scott

RS: 3.5of 4 Stars Average User Rating: 3.5of 4 Stars

2007 Universal Pictures Thriller

Call it the black "Scarface" or "the Harlem Godfather" or just one hell of an exciting movie, but the fact-based, 1970s-era American Gangster is already looking like a major awards contender. Denzel Washington looms like a colossus as notorious drug lord Frank Lucas, and in the still, watchful center of his volcanic performance you'll find the measure of a dangerous man. There's more good news: A combustible Russell Crowe channels Serpico as Richie Roberts, the honest Jersey cop who aches to take Frank down. Steven Zaillian, sourcing Mark Jacobson's 2000 New York magazine interview with Lucas ("The Return of Superfly"), brings scrappy life to a script that spans more than a decade. Camera legend Harris Savides shoots on the fly, as if he'd sneaked into a Seventies time capsule. And Ridley Scott, at the top of his game, directs like a man possessed. Jay-Z did a hip-hop concept album, unconnected to the soundtrack, to pay tribute.

So what's the downside? The movie is long (157 minutes), overstuffed (horn-dog Richie's court fight against his wife for child custody belongs on Lifetime), shadowed by innovators (Coppola, Scorsese, The Sopranos) and limited by giving equal time to Richie when -- don't kid yourself -- Frank is the flame that draws us in. We see Frank first torching a victim, then pumping him full of bullets. In business, Frank doesn't believe in a job half done. An uneducated force of nature from North Carolina who hits New York as a driver for black mobster Bumpy Johnson (a knockout Clarence Williams III), Frank is soon a star peddler of heroin. And he does it the hard way, by cutting out the middlemen, including the mob. He flies to Southeast Asia to buy the junk, smuggles it stateside in the coffins of Vietnam soldiers, bribes police and the military, hires his brothers and cousins to help run his operation, and sits back with his wife -- no less than Miss Puerto Rico (Lymari Nadal) -- as the millions roll in from the drug he calls "Blue Magic." He even buys his version of Graceland for his good mama (the superb Ruby Dee). No wonder Frank believes in America: The corporate lifestyle of lie-cheat-steal-kill works for him. Frank damn near flies under Richie's radar until he breaks conservative form and pimps out by wearing a chinchilla coat and hat (gifts from his wife) to an Ali-Frazier fight. That makes him a target. Who wants him dead most? A rival dealer (Cuba Gooding Jr., returned to form)? A bad cop (Josh Brolin is chillingly good)? A mob boss (Armand Assante doing low sleaze to a high turn) who will never see blacks as paisanos? It's the mobster who tells him, "It's success that took a shot at you." It's also race, class, and the absence of truth and justice that currently define the American way. American Gangster isn't all blistering action; it has bite and timely relevance. Frank and Richie are both outsiders playing by rules everyone else ignores. Even Richie's crew laughs at him for not pocketing a million bucks in found drug money. But as Richie's grip tightens around Frank, the movie closes in for the kill by crosscutting (shades of the Corleones) between a massacre and a church service. The climax also allows Washington and Crowe to finally occupy the screen together. As with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Heat, it all comes down to a few pointed words and banked fire in the eyes. Washington and Crowe clash like titans -- they're something to see.

Ditto the movie, which goes to the heart of America's obsession with success as a killer instinct. That's why the film's moral indignation with Frank can't match its fascination with his balls of steel. Superfly and Tony Montana are Hollywood fantasies. Frank is for real. As the real Frank said, "People like me. People like the fuck out of me." Maybe that's what's so scary.

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PETER TRAVERS

(Posted: Oct 18, 2007)

Your Turn

Give us your review of
American Gangster

Review 1 of 8

3of 4 Stars

Well, he should have run from Russell Crowe. So, he makes a deal and gets off with 15 years. What about all those people he killed, Richie? I was anxious to see this film as I am a Denzel Washington fan, but I have to say that it does not live up to the hype. I would watch The Godfather or Goodfellas again before I watch this film a second time.
But....
Denzel Washington Did A Good Job But Russell Crowe Was Fantastic

Jun 23, 2008 15:02:52

Review 2 of 8

3of 4 Stars

I would really like to say the American Gangster is a 4-star film- but it's not. Denzel Washington is a Colossus as Frank Lucas and Russel Crowe plays the part of the troubled cop to cinematic perfection, but there's a nagging feeling throughout the 157-minute length of the movie that something is missing. There's a lot of violence all right, but it never is mordantly terrifying, and Mr. Scott seems to be confused about his depiction of violence- is Lucas an irredeemable horseman of the Apocalypse? Or is he an all-too-human monster?
The score is really very good, and the movie takes you on a ride through 60s and 70s America, where drug abusers die in squalid bathrooms, the strains of a Byrds song still coming from outside. American Gangster attempts to walk the line between Good and Evil- and does so just fine, never mind if it doesn't get there.
3.5 Stars

Mar 16, 2008 21:31:41

Review 3 of 8

3of 4 Stars

Its entertaining, but like so what. Good for Denzel Washington, Academy Award Winner, Russel Crowe, Academy Award Winner, and Ridley Scott, Academy Award Winner, for making a solid movie. Next time I might want some substance besides new ways to be badass.

Dec 12, 2007 16:12:43

Review 4 of 8

4of 4 Stars

An innvigorating tour-de-force of a film that will knock you on your ass and keep you there for its 2 1/2 hours of pure joy. It is overflowing with fantastic performances and that guilty feeling that any effective mobster movie delivers; that uncontrolable careing for the criminal and his brood, no matter what travesties they have committed. Ridley Scott serves up one of his best films as well a peice of cinema for the ages. This is a serious awards contender and one of the best films of the year.

Nov 16, 2007 09:30:43

Review 5 of 8

4of 4 Stars

American Gangster is an instant classic that well deserves its place in celluloid history with the other great mob flicks. This phenomenal film and its subject matter are simultaneously captivating and repulsive. Like the Godfather, Good Fellas and other in this genre with similar, twisted takes on the American Dream and family values, AG tells the rags to riches story of Frank Lucas, a Black ‘70s Harlem heroin dealer who outwitted the police and so-called mob bosses of his day to become one of the most powerful drug kingpins of all time. This powerful film is full of metaphors and allegories that anyone can relate to today’s society, from politics to the corruption of corporate America. Washington’s ‘Godfather’ is restrained, seductive, calculating and yet lethal. Still, he makes us understand if not approve of Lucas’ methods to attain the Dream like so many illegal and legal ‘Don’s’ before and since him. Adrienne C Barr

Nov 7, 2007 19:14:01

Review 6 of 8

4of 4 Stars

It has been a long time since a mafia/gangster flick has been this good. A classic to say the least. Better then The Godfather? Maybe not quite, but it's just as much fun when you see the working genius of director Ridley Scott tackle a gritty crime drama and embrace the main characters with so much enthusiasm. Yes, Denzel Wahington shines, and Russel Crowe, even as accomplished as he already is, manages to keep pace with the mighty Washington. The audience gets the best of the bargain here, by absorbing both sides of the law in explicit detail. We see how Washington's Frank Lucas comes up as the drug kingpin while Crowe's Roberts struggles with being an honest cop in a dishonest world. American Gangster is just too good. A lock for all sorts of nominations this coming awards season. While this film may not be better then those other classic mafia films from the 1970s, it is easily the best since and the best film this year, period. Go watch it. Now.

Nov 4, 2007 17:27:32

Review 7 of 8

4of 4 Stars

Pretty spot-on review, but I can't believe you didn't mention the soundtrack. Everything from the classics of the time to the score created for the movie was perfect.

Oh, and Anthony Hamilton as the club singer? In-effing-credible.

Nov 4, 2007 06:53:19

Review 8 of 8

Not Rated

Interesting review. But, it doesn't cover how good this really is. With Scott you are always going to get a good movie, but how good is it? Is it better than Matchstick Men? You should review it at filmcrave.com

Oct 25, 2007 07:33:02

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