SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The Movie Diorama Ridley Scott does like to tackle a variety of genres and topics, from classic sci-fi to religious epics. Now he has put the eternal battle for drug enforcement under his belt also. I'm just waiting for him to tackle the important subject of fluffy unicorns that shoot rainbows...Hollywood, make it happen. Based on the true story, gangster Frank Lucas monopolises the drug trafficking scene in New York City. Making both friends and enemies. Hot behind his tail though is detective Richie Roberts who is cracking down on the city's drug war. How do you make such a formulaic film so compelling you might ask? You bring in the big acting guns. Oh yes! Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Washington in particular gives a commanding performance where he owns every scene. Whether it be a calm demeanour or full on rage mode, you don't mess with Frank Lucas. Crowe is absolutely fine, but feels completely underpowered when comparing to Washington's performance. It's not his fault, he is just up against a powerhouse. Supporting cast, again, just didn't make much of an impact. The story was involving for the most part, felt very realistic. Fantastic drug heist shootout during the third act. Scott's artistic flair makes even the most basic of scenes look exciting. The biggest negative, and is unfortunately a massive deal, is the first hour. It is such a drag and is completely uninteresting. It's either too quick or too slow, never perfectly balanced. Stuff happens to which I just don't care. As soon as Roberts is on Lucas' case is when the film gets going. Also the personal aspects to Roberts' life does not develop him as a character and feel unnecessary. It's a long runtime and it does feel like it occasionally, but once the plot gets going it is rather engrossing and does host one of Washington's better performances. I could listen to him say "My Man!" everyday.

Tweekums In the 1960s Frank Lucas worked as a driver 'Bumpy' Johnson; when Bumpy dies Frank takes over his New York drugs empire. It is a time when heroin is expensive and low grade but Frank decides to do something about that… he cuts out the various middlemen and buys directly from a producer in South East Asia and uses contacts in the US Military to fly the drugs from war-torn Vietnam to the States. Soon his high grade, low price 'Blue Magic' heroin his the streets of New York and nearby New Jersey. Meanwhile Richie Roberts, a cop who has lost the trust of his corrupt colleagues after handing in a million dollars of drug money he found rather than stealing it, is asked to head a new anti-drug task force. At first Frank isn't even on their radar; he is African American and everybody 'knows' the drugs trade is run by the Mafia. As the years pass Frank comes to dominate the local drugs trade and inevitable finds himself in the sights of Richie, who wants to arrest him, and corrupt cops, who want a slice of the action.This is a really solid crime drama in a similar vein to films like 'The French Connection'. The film impressively captures the feel of the late '60s and early '70s. There is no question that Frank is a villain but even though we see that he is a murderer and has no moral problems with ruining more lives with heroin he is likable. Denzel Washington really impresses in the roll. Russell Crowe contrasts nicely as Richie Roberts, an honest cop who is determined to get his man even if that means making enemies. The rest of the cast, which includes plenty of fine actors, does a fine job too. At two and a half hours the film certainly isn't short but I was never bored. I liked how the passing of time was marked by the progress of the Vietnam War; something which also plays a key role in Frank's drug supply. Overall this is an impressive crime thriller that is definitely worth watching if you are a fan of the genre.

Christian Pros: Interesting story and strong performance by Denzel. Cons: Predictable. A few directing and acting flaws.In the tradition of Blow (2001), here is a real American Hero...America has been glorifying gangsters way before hip hop and gangster rap, way before television "The Sopranos" (1999), hit movies Scarface (1983) and Goodfellas (1990). Guns and seemingly limitless funds (read "fun") were an end and a mean (by a mean I refer to both the demeanor and misdemeanor, and I mean by any means necessary) before the Godfather (1972) et al. had every prototypical Italian American and his neighbour imitate Brando, Pacino, De Niro or Pesci ad nauseum and quote lines of gangster movies like people used to quote Shakespeare. The American Dream, before "American Idol " (2002) produced prefab Pop Stars, was of an entrepreneurial spirit realistically closer to the original spirits-bootlegging Scarface than say an arguably antisocial, enigmatic, Bill Gates. America's gun culture endures. Thus the title of the movie alone, alas, says a lot about the American subconscious. This may even go beyond the United States boundaries as Hollywood and U.S. influence on the world culture is still very powerful--in Japan, you have the Yakuzas… From Bonnie and Clyde (1967) to American Gangster (2007), movies about money and violence has been very popular. For example, there is a clear preponderance of high ratings for such movies in the Internal Movie Database – IMDb, the most popular movie website in America and on the planet. At the time of this original article (Nov 2007), four out of the five overall best- rated movies in the TOP 250 out of hundreds of thousands are of that kind! In this rendition of the gangster movie genre which focuses on a clever, ruthless 'black man' in Harlem's 1960s who builds a drug empire, the glorifying is not overt, yet it is not really made in a way that you will realistically root for the "good cop" instead of the "bad a*s villain". The movie has depth in content in that it deals with connected racial tension and government involvement in corruption and drug trafficking. A big angle to the tale is that bypassing regular drug channel and getting the product straight from the source in Far-East Asia with the help of the US Army in Vietnam, this 'black man' or nig*r (America's subclass or worse than nothing) was able to overshadow even the Italian Mafia's chokehold on organized crime, which unsettled more than a few people from both sides of the law. Also, the systematic corruption in New York law-enforcement agencies that permitted the fight on drug trafficking to be very lax as well as these state employees actually profiting from this decadence in the streets, was brought to light and to life quite vividly. In this picture, Denzel dazzles and is a great villain in his portrayal of Frank Lucas, although not to the degree of his Oscar- worthy Training Day (2001) performance. He gets a chance to shine occasionally and more so towards the end, but the script and directing did not allow him to show his full arsenal on celluloid. Russell Crowe plays a cop again (L.A. Confidential, 1997) and is as subdued as his character. What I did not like is that the subplot of his personal life, although maybe interesting on paper and a worthy contrast to add complexity and not fall into black-and-white territory, did not really work and detracted instead of enhanced the picture. These were the only parts that really felt long and underused out of the otherwise well-paced 157 minutes. Carla Gugino did not really hit the mark as the wife, but it seemed to me that it was more of a storytelling mishap out of Ridley Scott's directing. He should have handled it differently to have a better impact or not use it at all and maybe spend more time on Frank Lucas' personal or "professional" life. Besides this little lack of character development that can be seen for pretty much most of the characters, the film is a good story, well told and well placed into the context of the time and place of the narrative. The conclusion wraps everything up nicely. Thank you, come again.

LeonLouisRicci Director Ridley Scott's Output is Inconsistent. He has made some Great Award Winning Films and a Substantial Number that are Not.The Gangster Genre has its Modern Era Royalty..."The Godfathers" (1972-90)..."Scarface" (1983)..."Goodfellas" (1990)..."Donnie Brasco" (1997)... etc. and the Director Knocks on the Castle Door with this Epic, but some say that He was Denied Entry.The Film is Rich with 1970's Culture, has Two Powerhouse Leads (Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe), a Budget to Kill for ($100 million), a Fine and Respected Screen Writer (Steven Zaillian), and a Sprawl of Characters and Locations. It Looks Great, has an Enormous Running Time (157/176 min), and Gangster Culture is almost Always Box-Office Booty when done on this Level.It's a Good Movie, with its Attention to Detail Rewarding, the Big Cast List is Populated with A-List Character Actors, and the Story is True Life Legend. Professional comes to Mind when the Movie Unreels. But it somehow lacks the Spark of the New that the Kings of the Genre have in Common.While it Fails to Ignite, it does Blow By some of its more Mediocre Contemporaries. However, the Film is too Conventional in a Category that is so Common, so Ingrained in American Culture, it takes more than just Professionalism to make it Rise to the Top."American Gangster" is Not one of the Director's Least Inspired Projects, it's Better than quite a few of His Recent Films. There is much to See here and while it didn't make it into the "Gangster Court" of the Truly Greats of the Genre, it's No "Fugazi" Either.