One of the Best Gangster Movies Out There

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2016)

After his mentor is killed, "Frank Lucas" (Denzel Washington) decides to assume his former boss' place as the key drug dealer in Harlem. However, there are other drug lords who have also been waiting for this opportunity and they have decided to move into this territory as well. Because of that Frank takes a huge gamble and, rather than dealing with established middle men for his heroin, decides to procure his product directly from an original source-Thailand. This results in his being able to obtain pure heroin and cut it up to his own standards which happens to be of a better quality and for a cheaper price than anybody else can match in New York. Needless to say, this increases his customer base at the expense of the Mafia. And that doesn't make them very happy. It also increases his visibility to various law enforcement agencies for completely different reasons. Some want him off the streets while those more corrupt want to share in the profits. Regardless, a lot of people suddenly become interested in him and that means trouble-for everyone. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this is one of the better drug-related movies out there with Denzel Washington performing in a very excellent manner. Russell Crowe (as "Detective Richie Roberts") also performs well but make no mistake-this is Denzel Washington's movie all the way. In any case, I enjoyed this movie and have rated it accordingly. Definitely above average.