I've seen this movie somewhere...

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2007)

Or possibly it's the other way around. Maybe the story of Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington, has been crafted into other incarnations in movies such as NEW JACK CITY and KING of NEW YORK. Frank Lucas is a big time (maybe the biggest) drug dealer in Harlem who happens to not only sell heroin at half the price of any other dealer, but it's 100% pure heroin, called "Tru Blu". That's where Russell Crow comes in playing the role of Det. Richie Roberts, an overly honest cop. Roberts can't seem to find out who's dealing "Tru Blu" until a minor slip up happens, one that makes even Lucas (a man who really dots his i's and crosses his t's) seem human. At this point it's a mission for Roberts to catch an uncatchable man in Lucas. This is due to Lucas's management of his operation and a corrupt Police Department. In what seems to be the year of Josh Brolin, he puts in another amazingly solid effort in the supporting role of Det. Trupo, one of the crooked cops. He really puts life into one of the main sub-plots and keeps it moving along. The only complaint I have, and it really is no one's fault, is as mentioned in the title, I've seen this movie before. OR at least major elements of it in NEW JACK CITY and KING of NEW YORK. Makes you wonder? And that's why I give it 8/10.