No Soul.

Rating: 6/10 (21 December 2007)

What American Gangster lacked was not action, a better script or competent directing. It had all three of those in spades, plus everything else one needs to create an epic drama in the spirit of Scarface, The Deer Hunter, etc. My only issue was that it tried soooo hard to live up to the great 70's/80's epics that it fell miserably short. It became a sloppy poseur instead of a genuine piece of art.
Now, I don't know who to blame for this (I mean, even the poster of the film is like the classic Scarface poster!) so I won't start naming names. All that needs to be known was that it was obvious. It was cliché and it was sloppy. Very very sloppy.
Hollywood HEAR US!! WE'RE ON TO YOU!
(The Jay-Z record "American Gangster", on the other hand, is a masterpiece!)