Solid crime drama with great performances

“American Gangster”
Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejifor, Josh Brolin
3.5 stars out of 4

Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster” is the crime saga of two flawed and hard nosed men. Denzel Washington in a great performance plays Frank Lucas, the main distributor of Heroin in Harlem in the early 1970’s. Russell Crowe plays detective Richie Roberts, an honest cop, who is also a deadbeat father and husband. The whole film plays as an epic buildup until these two men collide. Scott directs with style, and gritty detail.
When Lucas was up and coming, he looked up to an older businessman who then died of natural causes. Lucas saw an opportunity to get ahead, and started his own business. He would fly to Bang Cock during Vietnam, buy 100 kilos of heroin and have it shipped to the U.S. through Vietnam caskets. From there Lucas would name the drug Blue Magic, and have his family help him organize his product. His right hand guy is his brother Huey, played by Ejifor, in a solid but plain role. Lucas stresses family, hard work, and sees himself as the definition of a true American.

“American Gangster” is supposed to be Denzel’s film, but Crowe has no problem stealing some of the much deserved attention. Both men dominate the screen more than anyone else, and when we see them at work its like watching two men in there actual real job. We believe Denzel as Frank Lucas, a smart and ambitious businessman who brings the best product to his people and neighborhood. Crowe as a by the book cop Richie Roberts, who stumbled upon $1 million in untraceable money and turned it into the cops, without even blinking. Roberts is looked down upon for doing the right thing, as most of the cops he knows are corrupt or crooked in some way, most notably Detective Trupo, played by Josh Brolin. Trupo is sleazy and arrogant and will find anyway to make sure he gets his handout from all the top guys, straight or crooked. Trupo sticks his nose into Lucas’ business demanding $10,000 on his doorstep on the first of each month; instead he gets a rooster in a cage and his fancy car blown up. This is how Lucas works, is orders are barked at him in a demanding and disrespectful way, he’ll come after you. Denzel plays this character with control, but we see his crazed psyche at times of frustration and anger. While Lucas stresses family, Roberts family life is completely out of whack, he sleeps with a different girl every night, and isn’t around for his kid, but he’s an honest and hard working cop, assigned to bring down the big sharks. He soon gathers a team of street smart guys who are tough and mean, and are likely to bring down Lucas.

The film is 2 hrs and 40 minutes in length, but doesn’t feel that long. We watch Lucas earn a name on the streets and build his empire from the ground up, he sells his product cheaply and gets rich, he owns the cops, and the mafia, and has the city by the balls. Meanwhile Richie and his crew are shaking everybody down to find out who in fact the big distributor in town is. When Roberts attends a real life Ali-Frazier fight dressed as a photographer, he notices Lucas having better seats than the main mafia guys, and even the corrupt Trupo. Roberts is a tough guy from Jersey who is as honest as they come, if its turning down bribes, he doesn’t care. Roberts’s character is just as important as Lucas’s

Director Ridley Scott comes close to a great crime epic, but ultimately falls short, he has a great cast but doesn’t use everyone to there fullest potential. Although I must say I did enjoy Josh Brolin as Detective Trupo, a true prick. There are a few rappers cast like Common and T.I. who don’t really do much, but just add there own gangster and hip hop vibe to the film, which doesn’t require any. The film has some great and stunning moments, but overall Scott falls short of greatness. The ending is a bit rushed and unpolished, and unsatisfying, those are just some of the minor flaws. Don’t get me wrong though, “American Gangster” is one of the best this year, and sure to be the best gangster movie of this year.