A fine, but currently overrated crime bio-pic...

Rating: 7/10 (23 August 2008)

..."American Gangster" is a strong film that unfortunately has limited repeat viewability save for Denzel "Glory" Washington and/or Russell "Romper Stomper" Crowe fans. Its current position as an IMDb Top 250 film (albeit near the bottom of that list) is most assuredly a temporary aberration; as newer films catch the fickle fancy of youthful moviegoers, it will fall off the list. Still, it's a fine piece of entertainment, if a less than accurate one (according to what I've read about it), and does manage to convey the zeitgeist of the time period fairly well, despite the plethora of visual anachronisms that eagle-eyed viewers may be apt to catch. Script doctor Steven "Schindler's List" Zaillian's screenplay delineates the rise and fall of a notorious Harlem drug kingpin in the late 60s/early 70s, while limning in tandem the problematic circumstances of the policeman aiming to bring him down. The usual issues of honor, integrity, and purpose are explored to varying effect (cf. "The Godfather," "Casino," "Once Upon a Time in America," etc.), and the minutia of drug-dealing and criminal investigation are convincingly illustrated (see "The French Connection," "Goodfellas," "Blow," and so forth and so on). Washington delivers yet another excellent performance as the homicidal crook with a sense of gentlemanly conduct, Crowe is equally strong as his determined opponent, and the rest of the cast is pretty much without fault. Production values are the expected top-rank, Harris "Zodiac" Savides DP work is superb, the score and incidental music selections are of a piece, and who can argue with Clarence "The Mod Squad" Williams III in an uncredited cameo role? All in all, a fine several hours of Crimestoppers entertainment, but far from the "classic" status that the current IMDb rating would indicate.