One Of the Best Gangster Films Ever Made

Rating: 10/10 (18 September 2012)

American Gangster is a biographical crime film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Steve Zaillian. The film is based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War. It features Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in leading roles,together with John Ortiz, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Norman Reedus, Ruby Dee, and Lymari Nadal in supporting roles.
There was a time when no one noticed reserved driver Frank Lucas, but when the criminal kingpin he was charged with transporting through the city streets suddenly dies, Lucas seizes the opportunity to build his own criminal empire. In the following months, Lucas solidifies his status as Harlem's most innovative drug dealer by delivering a product that is purer than the competitors' and cheaper, as well. When innovative businessman Lukas attempts to go semi-legit by becoming one of the Manhattan borough's biggest civil supporters, however, street- savvy outcast cop Ritchie Roberts begins to sense a sizable shift in the hierarchy of the drug underworld. But Roberts is one of the few honest detectives operating within a corrupt system, and as he sets out to investigate the case, crooked detective Trupo does everything in his power to compromise the integrity of his idealistic counterpart. Upon clearing all of the usual Mafia-connected suspects, Roberts begins to believe that a previously unknown black power player has come out of the woodwork to dominate the local drug trade. While Roberts and Lucas may be operating on opposite sides of the law, the one thing that both men have in common is a strict code of ethics that separates them from their opportunistic colleagues. Now, as a confrontation between the two men becomes inevitable and the fate of each becomes inexorably tied to the other, it gradually becomes apparent that only one of them will emerge from the conflict victorious.
American Gangster an epic, true crime drama, that although not entirely original in its premise is excellent in its execution.It maybe long at 157 minutes but immerses its audience with its twists and intricacies as it plays out and considers the logistics and consequences of crime and police corruption, with a plethora of show-stealing performances from the cast especially Washington's steely grip on his impersonation of Frank Lucas.