Ridley Scott fashions Crowe's intensity and Washington's commandingly cool presence in one of most entertaining crime pictures in ages

Rating: 9/10 (4 November 2007)

Audiences know a good crime-saga when they see one, as American Gangster brought in $16 million dollars on Friday alone according to showbiz-data.com, setting itself to double the weekend take of last years destined crime-classic The Departed. The proof is in the pudding as famed British director Ridley Scott helms the true life story of drug lord Frank Lucas and the detective on his trail, Richie Roberts in Scott's greatest conceived film since Gladiator. Scott beautifully and brutally orchestrates Russell Crowe's determined and intense Roberts and Denzel Washington's smooth but fierce Lucas, in a sublime crime epic that transcends the genre.
Frank Lucas's boss passes away in the beginning of film, prompting him to step into his shoes. Denzel Washington embodies Lucas as a cool commanding criminal who wears business suits rather then super-fly fur coats and jewelry as he adheres to keep a low-profile. Lucas carries profound ideals such as "the loudest guy in the room is the weakest," and that the man who draws the most attention to himself is the one that ends up in jail. He is in a lot of ways the Michael Corleone of Harlem as his intelligence and poise promote fear in his enemies. Although a gentlemen, Lucas is not afraid to conduct vicious acts of violence as he walks up to rival mobsters in broad day light and guns them down. This is one of Washington's most multi-layered characters, and he pulls it off with ease.
In noticing the high quantity of narcotics in Asia during the Vietnam War, Lucas immediately gets on a plane for Bangkok to work out a drug trafficking deal to get pure heroin in the United States. By securing this "product" he cuts out the middle man, thus causing his power and control to grow. He executes his plan with fortitude as he quickly becomes the city's leading drug lord.
Lucas's rise to mafia kingpin paints an engrossing portrait of capitalism in its most distasteful form, as Lucas becomes $150 million dollars richer as his product baffles police, junkies, and other criminals alike with its potency and lower price; and the audience feels the same effect.
The late 1960s and early 70s are fleshed out with breathtakingly dark and menacing cinematography. Ridley Scott and cinematographer Harris Savides heighten Gangster's realism as its stage is set upon gritty, foreboding mirages of night clubs and alleyways, where desperate junkies, crooked cops, and criminals loom everywhere. Savides had conveyed such dark gloomy visions in The Game and Zodiac. The screenplay also characterizes the time period with authentic hard clenched dialogue of the streets.
The focus on Crowe and Washington's dichotomy leaves out many story lines. We want to have a better sense of Lucas's father relationship with his nephew, and we wonder what happened for Roberts to cause his wife to take away his son. Their unwavering livelihoods however distract Roberts and Lucas from their beloved families, as Lucas is determined through his police work, and Lucas becomes paranoid to protect his business.
Much like L.A. Confidential or Miller's Crossing, Gangster delves you into the characters daily lives, where you get a distinguished sense that the world of the criminal and cop are not too far apart. These conflicted worlds of the police officer and criminal are both littered with selfish depravity, greed, and envied power as Lucas and Roberts are surrounded by evil on both sides. This includes a crooked cop, who uses his power to blackmail both Lucas and Roberts, which makes for a captivating twist in this crime epic.
Ridley Scott personifies the brutal effect organized crime has on innocent people's lives. Distressing shots of dead parents OD from Heroin inhabit the screen as a motherless child cries alongside her. These apparent scenes heighten the film's realism even more. Lucas's "product," is becoming the city's epidemic as thousands of New Yorkers are able buy his affordable Heroin. These wrenchingly unsettling images prompt the viewer to cheer on honest detective Richie Robert's crusade to rid the city of drugs as he becomes the film's hero. Russell Crowe exemplifies the character's courage and integrity through much evil as his struggle becomes the film's most captivating storyline.
American Gangster is intelligent and engrossing as it eloquently takes us through the rise and fall of one of the most notorious crime figures in history. Before you know it, 3 hours go by and you wonder what hit you, maybe it was the gritty dark atmosphere of New York City that was so captivating or maybe it was the dualism of Crowe's intensity and Washington's fierce but commandingly cool attitude, Gangster is simply a crime epic for the ages.