Reviews by Matt

Normally I start each review with some snappy observation. I use this vary paragraph to complain or praise something related to the movie I am about to review. Something happened to me when I sat down to do this review. I drew a blank. I tried so many different openings. I went with the humorous, the philosophical, the serious even the dry opening and nothing worked. It was after 15 long minutes of typing and deleting that I realized something. Some movies transcend the movie going experience.

Set in the 1970s during the Vietnam War, “American Gangster” follows Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) as he rises to become one of the top heroin dealers in New York. He delivers the highest quality drug at Wal-Mart prices. As more and more product floods the street, Richie Roberts(Russell Crowe), an out cast cop, is picked to head up a police force whose sole aim is finding the biggest drug dealers in the city. As Lucas gets more and more powerful, Richards comes closer and closer to busting him.

You really cannot go wrong with Denzel Washington. He is one of the greatest actors of this generation. He continues to raise the bar of what to expect from a lead actor. Lucas is a horrible person. In the first three seconds, and I am not exaggerating that at all, he lights a man on fire and then shoots him. Instantly we know he is not a man to mess with. Yet, you cannot hate him. He is so charming and so charismatic that you cannot hate him.
I know that in “The Godfather” and “Scarface” you like the gangster. The difference between those classics and “American Gangster” is this gangster is being perused by a cop who happens to be the other main character.

Crowe is another one of those actors who finds roles that show off this talent. Roberts became an outcast when he turned in some dirty cops who were taking money. He is picked to head up the narcotics enforcement team because he is seen as a clean guy. He begins to piece together that Lucas is working with powerful mafia members and even has them working for him. Roberts is a good guy who is surrounded by corruption. He handpicked his crew for the narcotics unit because he had to trust them. When he makes his way to New York City, Roberts, who works out of New Jersey, has to work with cops who he knows are dirty. He has to make a few compromises to get Lucas.

The movie almost lost me at one point. The police are making raids on some of Frank’s places as he sits in church. At first I thought that it was going to resemble the final scene in “The Godfather” where Michael attends his son’s baptism while the hits he ordered are carried out. Luckily it was not edited with quick cuts between the two scenes. They saved themselves from ripping off another movie by keeping the action on the raids and simply establishing that Frank was in church.

This is up there with other gangster movies like “Goodfellas” and “The Godfather.” Crowe and Washington are fantastic, as usual, in their roles. The story was riveting and the characters were intriguing. The performances were amazing and even the directing was awesome. When the Academy Award nominations come out in the next few months look for Washington and maybe even Crowe on the ballot for Best Actor. I even predict the movie getting the nod for Best Picture. There are so few movies out there worth seeing, but this is one of them.

9 our of 10
Rated R for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality
2 hrs 37 mins