Review of American Gangster (2007) by Ton Q — 21 Mar 2015

I know I'm petty, and I accept that fact but this film seems like some sort of revenge for what happened at the Oscars in 2002. Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington star alongside each other once again after 'Virtuosity' but the roles have been reversed this time and what we get is a very enjoyable, watchable and well made film that plays to its strengths well. The cast of this film is outstanding and everyone gives it their all. Crowe and Washington grab our attention right from the start and really make everything all the more compelling. There was a scene near the end with Crowe holding a shotgun with the camera looking up at him and that just looked badass. There are two 100 score reviews on metacritic, Ebert says that Russell Crowe's contribution is enormous and Lumenick says that Denzel dazzles in his best on screen performances to date (which is something bold to say considering his filmography); so which is it guys? Haha. Josh Brolin did another great job in a year where he was in excellent films and it was nice to see Chiwetel Ejiofor in a different kind of role. Ruby Dee gets a special mention because of her Oscar nomination, which I do think is a bit over the top. I think the fact she hasn't been nominated before and the scene where she slapped Denzel is what got her the nomination as a sort of an apology for the past. Not to say she wasn't good, because she was, it's just that when I looked at the Oscar nominations this got a few years ago, it certainly was a surprise to see her name as opposed to either of the leads or the director, I do wish she was in the film a little more. And there are just so many other cameos by so many other people, it's just great to see who will pop up next, but I will say, seeing Idris Elba in that hat was a bit absurd, it seemed like the role was beneath him and we got Cuba back in a serious film again! Even if it is only for a little bit. How this film didn't win the SAG for Best Cast, I'll never know and Crowe was also in two in one year! The story of the film was good, even if it was predictable; I'm aware it is based off of a true story but that doesn't mean it will just transcend the predictable structure of the genre. Saying that, though, it is still thoroughly watchable and the way everything comes together at the end is hugely satisfying, it is also told from a different perspective and that adds a hell of a lot to it.

I also really like the attention to detail and the way the characters are developed, two stories are being told at once and when it cuts from one to the other, I was always so interested to see what would happen next, and again, the way everything comes together is so satisfying. Perhaps I shouldn't criticise the story though because I think everyone knows the 'bad guy' is going to have his rise, fall and eventual capture, even if it actually didn't have all that much of the 'fall'. The look of the film and everything that went into designing it is absolutely beautiful and it feels so authentic, you really feel like you've gone back in time, the Oscar nomination for Art Direction was deservedly earned and the soundtrack was great as well. A conversation about a microwave was just one of the nice little character moments that this film has plenty of, funnily enough I had a conversation with my father a couple days before watching this about when microwaves were first introduced and it was just a funny little coincidence. While Roberts was given quite a bit of background, which was good as it made his character deeper than he normally would have been in another film, I felt like I didn't know as much about Lucas, which is ironic, seeing as how what he does is the main focus of the film. Not to say he is poorly developed but I felt like it skimmed past quite a lot of his rise and didn't really give us much background on what was going on. It shows his initial beginnings and what happened with his family but then it seemed like it jumped quite a bit into the future. He also kept saying 'my man' and I thought it was going to transition into 'Training Day' at any moment, and it would seem oddly fitting as well. While the film is certainly a nice throwback to films of its type from years past whilst standing up on its own merits but I don't think it's the modern classic some are calling it.