AMERICAN GANGSTER – MOVIE REVIEW By: KZ Musafir
After last year’s Academy Award winning film The Departed, we are introduced to another cops and gangsters crime film based on the true story of the black gangster, Frank Lucas, and the honest detective, Richie Roberts.
With the movie already being leaked on the internet, audience still are willing to go and see one of the most awaited movies of the year. Ridley Scott (director of Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down) brings another gangster epic starring Denzel Washington (coming back to his bad guy role from Training Day) and Russell Crowe (Scott’s favorite actor). However, American Gangster doesn’t live up to the expectations and is a big letdown.
American Gangster is the true story based on the uprising gangster Frank Lucas in the 1960s, Harlem. The movie starts out when the tough Lucas burns a beaten up Mexican into flames. Then, Frank’s father-like mentor is introduced giving out food to the people of Harlem on Thanksgiving Day. Unfortunately, Frank loses his mentor right after the two discuss about how America’s economy is falling. This is the start of the rise of one of America’s most notorious gangsters. He has connections with the Italian Mafia, the military of Bangkok, and the U.S. army in Vietnam. Eventually, with all the resources, Lucas starts to smuggle his own ‘pure’ drug, called Blue Magic, from the farms of Bangkok. However, the film also revolves around a second character, Richie Roberts, played by Russell Crowe, who is on the hunt for the man behind Blue Magic. After a lengthy two and a half hours, Roberts finally faces the Lucas, the last man he would have thought to be behind all the mess.
With an excellent story in hand, Ridley Scott has definitely made an excellent gangster flick. However, only if this movie came out before all the other crime movies from which American Gangster is deeply inspired. But to start, lets look at the pros of the film.
Scenes to watch out for:
· The opening scene with Denzel’s introduction.
· Russell Crowe’s beginning scenes with his partner, and the ‘unmarked money’ jokes that follow it.
· The start of Frank’s business and Blue Magic.
· The reunion of the Lucas family.
· When Frank shoots another black gangster in the middle of the day in a crowded Harlem street. This is probably the best scene in the film, and it really sends chills down your spine.
· When Richie finally gets to know about Frank Lucas.
The film just isn’t as original as one would expect, because we have seen so many classic gangster films like The Godfather, Scarface, Goodfellas, and even The Departed. Maybe the new type of crime dramas are the ones being filmed by David Cronenberg (A History of Violence, Eastern promises).
The letdown:
· Russell Crowe’s introduction was too early in the film (He just didn’t seem as important until a few minutes later).
· The film switches back and forth from Frank’s life to Richie’s life, in which Frank’s life is a lot more intriguing.
· The Lucas family is just not as captivating to the audience as the Corleone family, such that it doesn’t feel like a family business because the brothers are shown completely dumb in the crime business.
· Some scenes have already been witnessed by the viewers, such as the naked girls packing the drugs (from Blow), the relationship between Lucas and his model-turned-wife (similar to the scenes of the flirtatious Ray Liotta and his wife from the Goodfellas), etc.
· Finally, the ending. Completely unexpected to someone who has never heard of Frank Lucas. The ending was truly disappointing, because it just didn’t seem like the right thing to do for Lucas as he was shown so tough and powerful throughout the movie. This is the part where the audience could have expected an ending like Scarface or The Departed. I don’t want to ruin the ending, but it clearly reminds you of Frank Abagnale Jr. from Catch Me If You Can.
· Also, the ending comes up too quick (even after sitting there for almost three hours). There was no action between the two protagonists, but just a stare that soon ended up in prison a frame later.
No doubt, American Gangster is effective in technical terms. The realistic look of the movie with excellent cinematography by Harris Savides really makes it seem like the 60s. Also, the editing by Pietro Scalia is quite effective but could have chopped out about 10-15 minutes. The writing by Steven Zailian is Oscar worthy, mainly because the character development of the two main protagonists is very effective, which lets the viewers get the grip of the characters. However, the researchers should also get credit for there hard work.
Equally important, the dialogues are probably the most original aspect of the film. The dialogues are really impressive and suite Denzel Washington and his character perfectly. Notice the phrase, “One who stands out the most is the weakest one of all,” when Lucas explains this to his brother, but then makes the mistake himself. Another plus for the movie is its background score, which is composed by Jay-Z. With the suitable soul music, and the soft theme music (kind of reminds you of the theme music of The Godfather), Jay-Z has a worthy soundtrack.
Coming to Ridley Scott’s direction, it’s nothing big or high tech like his sci-fi Alien, action Gladiator or the feminism Thelma and Louise, and that’s because it isn’t required. Rather than going out of control and showing a shootout between the gangsters and the cops, Scott keeps the entire film in control from frame to frame, with no cheap use of the crane shot or slow motion. He is able to capture the setting and the characters brilliantly with the usual wide close-ups. Unfortunately there are another dozen directors who have experimented with realistic crime drama in the urban areas.
Behold the major attraction of the film, the powerful performance from both the main actors (who were actually competing for an award in 2002). Denzel Washington impresses in every single movie, and his performance just keeps on getting better. But, his performance in American Gangster has to be on top of the list. He surpasses his Training Day role, and moves on to a role that has never been played by an African American actor before. Not only are the dialogues powerful, but his eyes tell us everything. Notice him in the scene in which he yells at Cuba Gooding Jr. for steeling the name Blue Magic. Frank Lucas’s character fits Denzel Washington like a glove. In the same way, Russell Crowe also leaves a mark in the film. No doubt, he is the supporting actor, but his screen presence is as important as Washington’s. We hadn’t seen the magnificent Crowe give a powerful performance since Cinderella Man. But it’s great to see him back with the commanding performance he gave in this year’s 3:10 to Yuma and now American Gangster.
The rest of the cast gives great support to the two superior actors. Josh Brolin, who we have seen a lot this year, gives a likable performance as the corrupt cop. Cuba Gooding Jr. makes descent in his guest appearance. And Chiwetel Ejiofor is satisfactory as Frank Lucas’s elder brother and right hand man.
Overall, American Gangster is a powerful film that will be remembered by many, but the movie buffs will feel this movie is a like a déjà vu, that doesn’t live up to all the hype. It has all the aspects of a great film, but lacks in originality. However, the film will go a long way due to the two powerful performances portrayed by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.
*** out of 4
