Ridley Scott's Own Take on A Proved Genre

Rating: 9/10 (23 November 2016)

One of the things I love most about Ridley Scott is his willingness to try everything, he's tried his hand at almost every genre in his career and while it's hasn't always workout for him I always admire the effort. But I don't just have to admire the effort here because I loved this movie, it's one of Ridley Scott's best and one of the greatest movies of 2007. A large part of that is due to its two central characters. I loved the character of Frank Lucas in this film he was so captivating I loved seeing his arc and business acumen and is by far one of Denzel Washingtons best and most complex performances. Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott are great together I loved Crowes character because again he was a complex one I loved seeing him want more than what he had and I loved the scenes between these two characters. The world of Harlem in this movie just sucks you right in you immediately see what kind of place this is and see what's been done to it by people like Lucas. Another thing I loved about this movie was the fact that everything had consequences, we see with our own eyes the fallout of Lucas' dealings and make him a more well rounded character. I think this movie has some of the best uses of violence in a movie because it's used to enhance the story, the extra blood or close ups of drug ridden dead bodies sucks us into the atmosphere more. I also really liked Josh Brolin in this movie I thought his character added something to this movie his story arc of being a corrupt police officer paralleled very nicely with Crowes head strong, good-cop arc and added to the bleak atmosphere Scott was trying to create. other characters I loved seeing were Lucas' brother it set up a nice dynamic between them, it's was good to see them get sucked into this world and I thought it added to Washingtons character to see him slowly isolate everyone he loves and creates for some really disturbing sequences. If I have one flaw with this movie it would be that it's definitely similar in terms of style and tone to other Gangster flicks but if it works for what To filmmakers are trying to accomplish and it does just that then I'm fine with that for the most part but the only area I thought this didn't quite work for was the love story I just didn't think it added anything to this film and I didn't really buy the chemistry between the two.
This is a fast paced, entertaining and long lasting crime thriller, it's one of Scott's best movies with great performances, very good character dynamics and arcs. It's definitely similar to other movies of this genre but it doesn't hold this movie back from its greatness.
91%/A