American Gangster

(5 votes, average: 4.8 out of 5)

by Samuel Allen Danger

Lets start with Russell Crowe. I have yet to see Russell Crowe in a film I don’t like (exception: The Quick and the Dead), so you know this is a film worth seeing even before you look at the bottom half of the poster.

Crowe plays a cop, a clean cop, in fact, the cleanest cop, Richie Roberts. The film opens with Crowe holding a million bucks in unmarked bills, which he gives up for evidence so he can feel good about the fact that he’s a crummy husband. Later, after his beloved partner overdoses on a new string of heroin, he is bent on abolishing drug sales in his city and takes it upon himself to bring down the biggest dealer in town. Russell Crowe is a good at playing the good guy. He is correct for the role, no doubt about it.

Then we have Denzel Washington. Lets skip the elaboration and we’ll just put it out there: I’m personally nominating Denzel for best Actor of ‘07 and president in ‘08. This guy plays the role better than the real Frank Lucas. Sorry… I’m just a bit excited.

Anyway, Denzel Washinton plays Frank Lucas, the former apprentice to the biggest heroin dealer in New York, turned biggest heroin dealer in New York. Take Scarface and mix him with Malcolm X. It is here we meet Frank Lucas. He hits some untouched drug territory and becomes one rich mo-fo, and if it weren’t for that meddling Russell Crowe, he would have continued to live the good life without a hitch. This is where our central conflict develops.

After American Gangster, Denzel Washington will be known as the most bad-ass actor in film history (if he isn’t already). Finally we have our director, Ridley Scott. To get a director like Ridley Scott for a film like American Gangster is like the sweetest cherry on an already rich
sundae. The direction here is so perfect that it almost matches… oh, I don’t know… Blade Runner, but I’m not sure who directed that.

How it ends up: Somewhere between Goodfellas and The Untouchables we get American Gangster. It wraps together an incredible true story about the light side of drug dealing and the dark side of law enforcement, all while not losing track of who’s the good guy and who’s
the bad guy. In the end you’ll feel satisfied and a bit happy. Look, just go see the movie, it’s that good.