That old blue magic.

Rating: 8/10 (22 February 2010)

Due to having seen a few minutes of what looked like a very good documentary called Mr Untouchable,i went online to read up about it,and i found out that it had some connexions with this Ridley Scott film.And whilst i think the film has some characters the are sadly over-looked and not built up enough,the film still has a fantastic cracker-jack storyline. The plot:
Due to the death of one of New Yorks most successful drug dealers,a void is in the city for someone to become New Yorks most powerful gangster,this leads to the dealers "assistant" Frank Lucas deciding that he does not want to be one of the two-a-penny dealers in 1970s New Yorks,instead he wants to run a business empire!!.This is done by him going to Asia himself and cutting out "the middleman" by buying his own supply of heroin,(and by giving his brand a label "Blue Magic",that he wants to be "The Coke and Pepsi of heroin".) Due to making sure that it is 100% pure,he is able to make sure that due to supplying himself,he is able to sell the drugs cheaper than anyone else and become the most successful gangster due to him being the only one selling 100% pure heroin.Lucas becomes so powerful,that he is able to bribe everyone from cops to people on the street,and whilst Lucas is living the high life,undercover police officer Richie Roberts (who is strongly disliked by the rest of the department,due to returning a "lost" million dollars.)And even though he has almost everyone against him,Roberts is doing everything he can to to stake out for as long as possible,in order to find out who is cutting the drugs(although he has no idea that the man who is running the cutting business,is the same man who is bringing the drugs into the city)
View on the film:
The screenplay by Steven Zaillia moves at an amazing pace,making the two hour and fifty minute unrated extended cut feeling as if it is a ninety minute movie!,with the scenes where Roberts is doing everything he can just to get a quick snap of a guys face given an excellent urgent feel,and Lucases rise to power is has a very tidy look,with a very dirty undertone that completely suits his world.The strange thing about the film is even with a very big running time,most of the supporting characters are not given the dept that they deserve and are sadly over-looked (with Nicky Barnes being one of the main ones).An impressive thing with the film is the grading,which gives it a fantastic 70s gritty look.
Whist Washington gives a very good performance as Lucas,the makes it seem that he is an unbreakable brick wall,Russel Crowe easily gives the best performance of the film as Roberts,with his investigating style feeling oddly similar to his role in State of Play,and even though Roberts has some very big flaws (such as having more interest in the case,instead of his wife and kids)there is enough determination with the character,the it is very tough not to be supportive of him during the gripping stake outs and investigations,which are the highlights of the film. Final view on the film:
A stunningly fast paced film,the feels as if it could be a classic thriller from the 70s.