Tough, gritty film

Rating: 6/10 (22 March 2012)

Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe do a superb job in their American Gangster lead roles. This time out, the positions they play are reversed from their previous film together titled Virtuosity. In Amercian Gangster, Frank Lucas (Denzel's character) is on the wrong side of the law while Det. Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) does everything in his power to bring Lucas to justice. Whereas, in their first film together Virtuosity, Crowe was the absconder of justice while Washington assisted the police to bring order to society while pursuing Crowe.
I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline, pace, and subject matter of the movie. Veterans Josh Brolin, Ruby Dee, and newcomer Lymari Nadal, all added exceptional performances in their supporting roles to fulfill director Ridley Scott's vision for the storyline.
I also noticed the fact that Denzel Washington had worked with the late Ossie Davis in Malcolm X and completed the cycle in American Gangster by starring with Davis's widow Ruby Dee.
Unfortunately, I also noticed that their seem to be many Denzel Washington detractors who cannot accept the fact that he won the Oscar for Training Day and therefore they are unable to let the past go. As a result, they infiltrate legitimate movie cites like IMDb and pose as fans in order to post negative comments that are far from the reality of the brilliance of director Ridley Scott and his talented actors in the American Gangster movie cast.