There are two sides to the American dream.
Director: Ridley Scott
Producer: Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott
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. Partly based on a true story.
157 min
Rating: 7.6/10
Released
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Top Cast
Denzel Washington
Frank Lucas
Russell Crowe
Richie Roberts
Josh Brolin
Detective Trupo
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Huey Lucas
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Nicky Barnes
Lymari Nadal
Eva
Movie Info
Director: Ridley Scott
Producer: Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott
Production Companies: Film Rites, Imagine Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Scott Free Productions
Countries: United States of America
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What Others Said
Andres Gomez:
Quite a disappointed since it is really as much as you expect, but nothing new.
Washington and Russell perform really well, so, as a characters movie, it works. It doesn't work at all as a biopic. Too much Hollywood on it.
r96sk:
A thoroughly entertaining 157 minutes!
<em>'American Gangster'</em> delivers in every area it needs to. Enthralling premise, immaculate music, phenomenal casting and great pacing. I was surprised slightly with how it finishes, but it's far and away from a disappointing/underwhelming conclusion.
Not much really needs to be said about Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. They're exactly how you'd expect them to be, outstanding! Washington is fantastic as Frank, while Crowe is superb as Richie. You have to wait a while for their proper screen time together, but it's worth the time it takes.
Away from the leads, you have a load of recognizable faces - I was literally that Rick Dalton meme for the first 45-60 mins! Chiwetel Ejiofor (Huey) and Josh Brolin (Trupo) have sizeable roles, though there's also appearances from Carla Gugino (Laurie), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Nicky), Idris Elba (Tango) and Norman Reedus (Norman). Excellent casting, that!
I was expecting slow moments due to the run time, but there aren't any - at least in my opinion. As noted, the way it ends is a tad differently to how I would've predicted, but I still enjoyed it alongside the rest of the it.
It might not be accurate on the real life Frank Lucas, but all that truly matters is does it excel as a film? Yes it does. Highly recommend!
CinemaSerf:
Denzel Washington is on top-form here as he takes on the role of the unscrupulous and devious heroine importer "Lucas" in this superior crime drama. Following the death of his boss, he spots an opening in New York's drugs market which he deftly exploits by importing top grade product directly from Thailand and he sells his "Blue Magic" cut-rate to an increasingly willing population. Largely insulated from risk by his very profitable links with organised crime, it falls to "Richie Roberts" (Russell Crowe) to head up a narcotics task force charged with stopping this lucrative trade that has made "Lucas" one of America's most wanted. It has to be said that his method of importation is extremely shrewd, and as the narrative unfolds we discover that this is not just a tale of drug smuggling, but of police corruption, violence, addiction and brutality and director Ridley Scott gets the best from both his stars - especially a terrifically plausible Crowe. There are strong contributions from a superb Ruby Lee as his mother and from Josh Brolin as the dodgy cop "Trupo" and an ensemble cast that keep this well scripted, paced and scored drama moving along in a characterful and interesting fashion. Certainly one of Scott and Washington's better efforts, and though long it flows well and passes just over 2½ hours compellingly.
Andre Gonzales:
Love gangster movies. Denzel Washington's one of the best to ever do it.