Movie Review: American Gangster

Sometimes there isn't much to say about a movie and review takes a little time to write. I saw Sir Ridley Scott's American Gangster a week ago and what's stuck with me is that it was long and Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe both gave good performances that I've seen before.

Denzel plays Frank Lucas, a real life Harlem drug lord from the 70s. He cut out the middleman, negotiating with growers in Vietnam and shipping it back to the US himself and selling pure heroin at half the price of the cut product his competitors were. He named his product Blue Magic and treated it like a brand. Denzel played him as Denzel. Strong, confident with a commanding presence, Crowe plays Richie Roberts, an honest cop in a completely corrupted New York City police department. Crowe's performance was reminiscent of his Jeffrey Wigand role in The Insider.

At two and half hours the film is on the long side, but what's worse is that it feels long because not much happens. I checked my watch twice, but more out of curiosity than boredom. We see events unfold and Frank's rise to power and fall but the film would have been better served if it was a half hour shorter or denser. None of the many supporting characters are anything more than props. The final takedown was drawn out but the very end of the film had an unexpected turn which was very interesting. It ends the film on a high note but it would have been more fun if more time was devoted to it. Good film, worth seeing, certainly not great.