Thinking man's gangster flick

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2007)

This is a rather long film but I never felt that it dragged. The emphasis is on the characters and the story as opposed to "action". Both main characters are well acted and have a lot of depth. Even Crowe of whom I'm not really a fan I very much liked his performance.
The story itself is a very realistic, and in that sense mature, account of the rise and fall of a drug lord and the, for the most part parallel, yet in the end converging story of an honest cop.
In conclusion, from the point of view of a character driven, story driven film, this is a high quality movie and very enjoyable if the subject matter doesn't repulse you.