Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe - these two men alone are reason enough to see “American Gangster,” and there’s finally a movie worthy of Washington’s talent as an actor. His recent films, such as “Déjà Vu” and “Out of Time,” have been a mish-mash of underwhelming acting performances. However, Washington draws on his best performances in “Training Day” and “Malcolm X” to create a complete character based on a real life black drug kingpin from the 1970s.
Not to be out done, Crowe carries his portion of the film powerfully as a detective from New Jersey who is one good cop in an otherwise dirty department. He disappears into his role, delivering a New York accent seamlessly throughout the film.
Washington is Frank Lucas, who was the driver for a Harlem crime boss in 1968. After his mentor passes away, Lucas needs to find a new angle on the street drug trade if he is to survive. He decides to cut out the middleman and get his supplies directly from the manufacturer, which means going to Southeast Asia. Once his supplies are guaranteed, he sets his family up in New Jersey and New York as fronts to sell his product.
Fascinatingly, Lucas proves to be a good businessman and a loving family man, but with a deadly cold streak.
Crowe is Richie Roberts, a street-level detective in New Jersey who investigates the narcotics trade. Unfortunately, many of his fellow cops are on the take from criminals and won‘t investigate or arrest the big fish. Roberts refuses to play those games, putting his career, his life and that of his partners in jeopardy. He manages to bring a crew of decent men on the force together and starts to explore the exploding drug trade in earnest, putting him on a collision course with Lucas.
“The Departed” - another dramatic gangster film - was released about this time last year to much acclaim and box office success. “American Gangster” follows in that vein, giving you two wonderfully complex performances from its stars. Director Ridley Scott (“Kingdom of Heaven”) is able to recreate the feel and style of the ’70s in this story. The cops dress like street thugs, drugs are abundant, Vietnam is raging, and the cars are all from motor city.
Josh Brolin, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Armand Assante all put in limited but weighty supporting performances, especially Assante as a very convincing Italian mob boss. While the film has shades of “Serpico,” “The Untouchables” and “The Godfather,” it has the right stuff to be a new iconic film in its own right.
Expect to hear a lot about this movie in the upcoming months - this film will be a strong contender for Oscar nods for directing, acting, and best picture, all while also being highly entertaining as it takes you on an epic trip through these two men’s lives.
So you owe it to yourself to get ahead of the curve and find out what everyone will be talking about. This film is a must-see for anyone looking to take a break from the standard holiday fare.
Rated R for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality.
