Review of American Gangster (2007) by Russell F — 03 Nov 2011

This is a great movie about two men. One. It is about a man named Frank Lucas who worked for Bumpy Johnson who later became a wealthy drug kingpin in the streets of Harlem and, Two it is also about another man--a police detective named Robert Richie who creates a brilliant team of smart feds to bust down and destroy the use of rampant drug use in the city and well later stop Lucas's dirty drug organization.

Ridley Scott's American Gangster is a dark, complex, fascinating film about these two men at odds, I was facinated with Washington's performance he really creates a dark complex villian who isn't afraid of big risks. Josh Brolin is very convincing as a hard nosed turned snitch detective. Chiwetel Ejiofor works with Washington once again and they are much better together then they were in Spike Lee's Inside Man.

Scott really gets in to the logistics of this film as with every great gangster picture I really felt I was on the inside of how Lucas rose to the top of purchasing narcotics in South East Asia and then shipping it to the States and giving his drug the brand name "Blue Magic" and Lucas isnt your ordinary gangster he's a gangster that works like a chemeleon where the feds have a hard time who this Frank Lucas Guy is.

Robert Richie played by Russell Crowe is also very interesting who is living in sin yet is doing the right thing by stopping the rampant drug use in the streets. He is belivable, never boring, and is gifted in his use of common sense--never a quitter, he works very hard and makes sure justice is served to the fullest. Scott as a director had a few misteps but came back with a great film with great characters and great insights to the turbulant 60's, Vietnam, and the end of a tragic era.