American gangster movie review. Review of American Gangster (2007) by Anthony Quinn for Independent (UK) 2022-10-31
American gangster movie review Rating:
7,9/10
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"American Gangster" is a crime drama film released in 2007, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. The film is based on the true story of Frank Lucas, a notorious drug lord in New York City in the 1970s.
The film follows Lucas as he rises to power in the criminal underworld, building an empire on the distribution of high-quality heroin throughout the city. Washington gives a powerful performance as Lucas, portraying him as a calculating and ruthless businessman who will stop at nothing to protect his empire. Crowe also delivers a strong performance as Detective Richie Roberts, the law enforcement officer tasked with bringing Lucas down.
One of the strengths of "American Gangster" is its attention to historical detail. The film does a good job of capturing the atmosphere of New York City in the 1970s, with its grit and grime, as well as the political and social issues of the time. The film also does a good job of exploring the complex relationship between Lucas and Roberts, as they are ultimately two sides of the same coin, each driven by their own sense of justice and morality.
Overall, "American Gangster" is a well-acted and well-directed film that tells an interesting and engaging story. While it may not be the most original crime drama out there, it is definitely worth checking out for fans of the genre.
American Gangster (2007)
But, maybe most surprisingly, it's also a superb character drama and study. And like Heat, Scott gets a lot of mileage from his star power. Yet both worlds teem with moral ambiguity. He has earned this position by delivering up uncut heroin directly from the Southeast Asian region during the Vietnam War era. Richie has been shot in the stomach by a rival gang and Leonard is tasked by Francis with protecting a briefcase containing a tape recording of a rat blabbing about their misdeeds. And now, because of the movie he sees himself as a hero and a star.
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Everything fits perfectly and there is an excellent antithetical presentation of the wealthy life of Frank Lucas opposite to the lives that he's drugs ruin every day, every hour, every minute. Crowe, who plays a stubbornly honest cop on Washington's trail, is low key and convincing; Washington, who also turns in a low key performance, is excellent. Dirty, corrupt cops are all over TV and movies. Denzel Washington being busy in working his heads off; and Russell Crowe being busy with his studies and trying to complete his law degree from the law college. By this I specifically mean the use of music. According to Vincent Canby's New York Times review published before its theatrical release, on March 16, 1972, "Francis Ford Coppola has made one of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life.
Review of American Gangster (2007) by Anthony Quinn for Independent (UK)
Oscar" Crowe playing the other lead, and like always, he always has the character down. I read an interview with the real Richie Roberts, who caught Frank Lucas, who don't understand why is Lucas represented as a good man in this film. The destinies of these two men will become intertwined as they approach a confrontation in which only one of them can come out on top. The scaling back or elimination of these scenes would have allowed for more emphasis on what I thought was a rather weak ending. There are scenes when you know he's gonna say it, and he still pulls it off incredibly well.
Both the stars are brilliant characters in their own field. Well acted, well scripted and very well directed. He finally targets Frank, but no one will believe him. During the Vietnam War in the 1970s, hard drugs, especially heroin and cocaine, became a major source of crime and, therefore, police and legal system involvement. Script,Camera, lighting,and not only par excellence from Crowe and Washington but the entire acting cast.
It would be like going to SonyCorp or some big Asian business; but this is a factory used to make one of the most destructive substances. The character development in this movie is practically perfect,you mostly follow Russel Crowe and Denzel Washington's characters,and I didn't feel like they left out a lot of information and really took their time letting use get to know these characters. But don't let that sway you if you enjoy good movies and or crime films. As for Russell Crowe! Scott might not be at the top of his game, but this film is made will skill and precision. Roberts believes someone is climbing the rungs above the known Mafia families and starts to suspect that a black power player has come from nowhere to dominate the scene. Director Ridley Scott takes on these familiar subjects, themes and characters with a keen eye for the social fabric, false assumptions, suffocating corruption and vivid personalities that make such a story worth retelling.
Consequently, the movie is smooth and smart enough to attract a significant audience beyond the considerable fan base of its stars, Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Unfortunately from listening to everyone else I was expecting some sort of masterpiece. After his death, he takes over the business and builds it into a gargantuan empire by smuggling heroin from Vietnam in the coffins of American war heroes. There are plenty of scenes that should have been left on the cutting room floor. Now i've heard some mixed reactions to this movie, and I must say I don't think that. Watch American Gangster without preconceived ideas.
Interesting to see pseudo-actors like Common and TI in the movie. It's gritty and dark with good flashes of the Ridley Scott style. But Scott does make American Gangster gain momentum as it goes along and reaches a powerhouse climax that is first intense and bloody it IS Scott after all , followed by a striking human angle. She makes a lot out of a little! Meanwhile, in the Essex County, the incorruptible detective Richie Roberts Russell Crowe that is studying for the Bar Examination is invited to join and head a Federal Investigation Force of Narcotics, seeking the leaders of the dealers in North America. Probably not he ended up in jail again, as the film doesn't point out.
He hires only relatives — a veritable army of brothers like Huey Lucas Chiwetel Ejiofor as well as cousins — whom he sets up with storefront businesses that function as drug-distribution centers. And it holds nothing on Scarface, at the end of it all, as far as being legitimately dramatic without the ham, as the actors and director click for most part on material that just needs to be told without any pretension- and with that dose of significance of real urban crime in the 1970s in NYC. Ridley Scott did show some interesting scenes and had good camera shot. Soon, he's got his nose to the pavement trying to figure out just where "Blue Magic," a powerful new street-brand of heroin, comes from. According to Roberts, he killed more black people than the KKK, ruined several black families and he was a drug-lord. He has committed a "crime. Even more than the Departed, one sees as the film goes on an environment of paradox: Frank Lucas was a low-life, a killer, a ruthless thug, and at the same time found time to take his mother to church every Sunday and gave out turkeys to folks in the neighborhood while providing them enough dope to die off in the process.
Then Lucas starts practicing what marketing experts call branding: It becomes known that his "Blue Magic" offers twice the potency at half the price, and other suppliers are forced off the streets by the rules of the marketplace, not turf wars. A tough, exquisitely-made gangster film redolent of Martin Scorsese at his best. In addition Scott didn't set out to film another scarface, he set out to tell a story not just about Frank Lucas but rather a tale of corruption and how pervasive it is. But in depicting his violence and viciousness, not acting overtly violent works better on film. Starting off, this probably shouldn't be grouped in as a mob film. Frank Lucas Denzel Washington who'd worked as a driver for Harlem crime boss Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson Clarence Williams 111 takes over the running of the gang after his mentor suddenly dies of a heart attack and soon builds his own empire by taking a very innovative approach to his drug dealing business.
