American Gangster
2007 Directed by Ridley Scott
Synopsis
There are two sides to the American dream.
Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in the Harlem district of Manhattan. He does so by buying heroin directly from the source in South East Asia and he comes up with a unique way of importing the drugs into the United States. Based on a true story.
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Ain't no man with swagger like 'Zel. The way he says "my man" earns 5 stars by itself.
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You'd think a film set in late '60s New York that follows a black drug lord working directly with the Vietnamese would say a lot more than 'American Gangster' does. Now bear in mind that this film took over 150 minutes to play out and the lack of thematic depth really becomes shocking.'American Gangster' has a strong story to work with, and this is its real strength. The classic good-but-flawed cop vs. bad-but-principled criminal story may not be entirely original but this film has enough to make it more than just a bog-standard crime drama. Although some sub-plots seem unnecessary, particularly Richie Roberts' marriage problems - presumably intended to flesh out the character…
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One hell of a film. Starts off a little slow, but when it gets going, needless to say it packs one hell of a punch. Both Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe give excellent performances and the brief moments they share make for some excellent chemistry. Fantastic supporting turns from the likes of Josh Brolin, Ruby Dee, Chiwetel Ejiofer, and even Cuba Gooding Jr who despite a brief amount of time on screen, he has'nt been this great since Jerry Maguire or maybe Instinct. Point is, the entire cast does a terrific job. Great soundtrack. The script is gritty, intelligent, and makes for some pretty amazing moments. Ridley Scott's best film since Gladiator. A terrific film that I'd put up there with some of the best crime films out there.
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Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington never cease to amaze me. Say what you want about Crowe but that guy can act and he's damn good at it. Denzel is just an a whole different level than everybody else, it's quite ridiculous. All of that and the wonderful direction of Sir Ridley Scott and you have what could possibly be a masterpiece. A gritty, dirty masterpiece.
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Whatever you throw at Denzel you know he will give a 110% performance.
Based on a true story, directed by Ridley Scott and a great cast with 2 powerful actor's and your left with a solid gangster film. -
Over the last decade, Denzel Washington has started experimenting much more with playing bad guys, or at least men of weaker moral fibre and it's a career choice that pays off dividends in American Gangster, Ridley Scott's intense yet epic depiction of the rise and fall of Frank Lucas. Much as Russell Crowe essays a trickier role excellently, this is Washington's film and he owns it - helping Scott craft a crime epic that may not quite rank as a Scorsese great but comes damn near close thanks to a well crafted script, a terrific 60's/70's atmosphere and electric performances.
Much as it might say 'based on a true story', I imagine a fair bit was dramatised here because no…
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Buena película policíaca. Me gusta la dirección y las locaciones y especialmente las actuaciones de Denzer Washington y Russell Crowe.
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Every director has their go-to actor - the one they collaborate with again and again. Scorsese had DeNiro (8 films) and more recently DiCaprio (4). Kevin Smith has Affleck (6). George Lucas did two whole trilogies with Harrison Ford, plus American Graffiti, another Indy film, and appearances on the Young Indiana Jones TV series and Star Wars Holiday Special.
American Gangster marks another notch in the continuing relationship of Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe, who previously teamed up for Gladiator and A Good Year, and later had two more, Robin Hood and Body of Lies. But this time he also recruited the talents of the favortie collaborator of his producing partner-brother-director Tony Scott: Denzel Washington (Crimson Tide, Man on Fire,…
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This was a movie, alright. A nice-looking movie, thanks to the contribution of Harris Savides behind the camera. But overall, it was a movie.
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You'd think a film set in late '60s New York that follows a black drug lord working directly with the Vietnamese would say a lot more than 'American Gangster' does. Now bear in mind that this film took over 150 minutes to play out and the lack of thematic depth really becomes shocking.'American Gangster' has a strong story to work with, and this is its real strength. The classic good-but-flawed cop vs. bad-but-principled criminal story may not be entirely original but this film has enough to make it more than just a bog-standard crime drama. Although some sub-plots seem unnecessary, particularly Richie Roberts' marriage problems - presumably intended to flesh out the character…
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A nice movie.
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Possibly the least memorable film I've rated so far.
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With American Gangster, Ridley Scott has proves again that he is one of Hollywood's top directors; bringing two great actors and giving them both plenty of screen-time to flourish. Denzel is brilliant as he transforms from collector to drug lord, and Crowe is fantastic playing an honest cop in the corrupt anti-narcotics force.
Scott is excellent in crafting and pacing the story and builds up nicely towards the face-off between Crowe and Denzel, which results in an unusual yet interesting turn.
Overall I would call American Gangster a great gangster-cop movie. Credit goes to Scott for pulling off a subject he has not proved himself in and bringing two of Hollywood's greats together and doing justice to their craft.
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Great ending but does nothing that interesting on the way