Very good... and a little long

Rating: 8/10 (26 October 2007)

You'll hear people describe American Gangster as a Black Scarface or a Black Godfather. Well, it's much better than Scarface, less compelling than The Godfather and certainly not a "black" film. It's a two-and-a-half-hour crime drama about the inherently capitalist nature of American crime that manages to feel epic despite it's small-scale story. In fact, it probably could have retained that same feel with an efficient 15-minute cut or, conversely, a serial adaptation to HBO. The character of Frank Lucas could easily sustain his own television series. After about two hours into American Gangster, I couldn't help but wish I could change the channel and pick up his adventures next week. The movie is that good... and it's that long.
Denzel is intense. Crowe is in top form. Scott has crafted an entertaining and meaningful film. But the greatest achievement is Zallian's screenplay which packs in so much story and believable character development with a pitch-perfect ending. Or maybe the greatest achievement is the editing, which builds such a compelling tale out of so many, tiny, efficient scenes that you have to wonder how many more hours of this film are sitting on the cutting room floor.
Maybe they should throw those extra hours back in and sell American Gangster as a miniseries. It really is that good, but it kinda is that long.