Review of American Gangster (2007) by Susans. — 05 Nov 2007

Let me preface this by saying I saw this movie at a 10:15 showing, and I hadn't looked up the run time of the movie, so maybe I was just tired. But I definitely felt every single one of those 157 minutes.

I was psyched going into this movie, but I left feeling tired and slightly irritated. What was the movie about? I don't know, and I don't think Ridley Scott knew either. It's very disjointed and, to me, slightly racist.

There didn't seem to be an argument being made, nor was there any definitive through-line. I wanted to care more about Washington's character, but the film wouldn't let me, and I wanted to be more angry at Crowe's character, but he kept being vindicated like a saint.

The only message I got in the end was that the good white cop will always win. And that irritated me severely. In conclusion, it was too many characters, not enough plot development, and no message, not even a morally ambiguous one.

I realize that it's based on real life, but that's no excuse for shoddy storytelling.