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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.5-Ridley Scott--is not a rip-off; it's an homage to every wise-guy classic to touch the screen, Feb 7 2008
I like this movie for what it's worth. We're treated to either side of mobster film, both unlawful and law enforcement; "American Gangster" plays like an assortment of 'Scarface' (there's a ruthless low hit-man becoming a drug emperor), 'The Godfather' (a calm, respectful, business like man rules over his mafia empire), 'The French Connection' (undercover cops go pursuing cryptic criminals in America, who do business in foreign lands), 'The Untouchables' (incorruptible good cop selects hand-picked team of cops he trusts to bring down notorious gangland leader), and you know all the rest. It's an intriguing, entertaining, and entrancing crime story. "American Gangster" is a solid mob movie. It's amazing watching this film and realizing how long he went unnoticed and unsuspected by the NYPD.
Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington hand in non-surprising solid performances and Ridley Scott directs the story tastefully, although it could have used a bit more speed. You find yourself looking at your watch a couple of times. Where Scorsese and even De Palma have directed overlong gangster movies that keep you on the edge of your seat from the first minute to the last, Scott made this one as unagitated as most of his great movies ("Alien", "Blade Runner", "Gladiatior") - and apparently people like him for it, so maybe it's just me who's got a problem with that.
Personally, I didn't feel connected enough. The main characters don't ever meet each other until the very end and then it's over way too quickly. Especially, Denzel Washington's change of ambition seems a bit rushed there and the ending is more than a bit reminiscent of "GoodFellas". Pretty much the whole film doesn't really feel fresh anymore even though I took well to Washington's role. Sure he's just like he is in most of his other movies but we routed for him just like how we routed for Al Pacino in Scarface. In fact, Peter Travers calls this movie the black Scarface. I agree with him partially. The tense job an unbribable cop has to do in a corrupt environment, the schizophrenic life of a gangster who is a loving family man in one minute and brutal killer with no qualms in the next, the glamorous rise and fall of a gangster boss. It never really gets old, but the more movies like this are being made, the less surprising they'll become.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
"Either you're somebody, or you ain't nobody.", Mar 22 2008
Harlem thug Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) wants very much to be Somebody, and his ticket to the top is heroin, imported from Vietnam with the help of the military there and a large contingent of dirty cops here. Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is a street-wise cop who makes it his business to track down the man who's running this drug racket.
This was the longest 157 minutes I've ever spent in a movie theatre. One of the problems with this film was that neither the hero (Richie) nor the villain (Frank) was a sympathetic character and I didn't care how it ended (although the epilogue shocked me). Gum-chomping Richie admits he's not a fit father and has no qualms about roughing people up in the line of duty. Frank is a slick, soulless fiend with no regard for human life. To say this movie is violent would be an understatement, but after watching so much depravity and cruelty, one becomes jaded and I stopped caring altogether.
The biggest weakness was that the two stars share the screen for a only few minutes. I was waiting and waiting to see these acting titans play off each other, and when it finally happened, it was disappointing. Washington definitely out-acts Crowe in a flashier role, and for his memorable performance, I gave the movie three stars. Very much a guy-film.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Breaks no bounderies, Mar 4 2008
This is a good, standard (maybe slightly above average) gangster film. Unfortunately, there has been too many great films in this genre that are still superior in many ways, that "American Gangster" does not impress. "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas" are examples that still show more originality and raw power. "American Gangster" unfortunately, lacks a strong vision and all too often feels like it tries to emulate these older masterpeices. It simply does not stand well on its own when it is inevitably compared to these classics. Not one of Scott's best.
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