American Gangster Film Review

American Gangster has all the signs of a great film. It's directed by Ridley Scott, stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, and is about a real-life gangster. But even with all that working for it, American Gangster is more mediocre than brilliant.

In the late '60s, Frank Lucas (Washington) is a driver for a drug lord. When his employer dies, Lucas takes over the operation and revolutionizes the way things are done. Inspired by news reports of American soldiers being addicted to heroin in Vietnam, Lucas decides to cut out the middleman and import the drug straight from a South Asian source. Through a friend in the army, he smuggles a highly potent form of heroin called "Blue Magic" into Harlem. As it spreads from West 116th Street to 155th Street, he creates a never-before-seen drug monopoly, and a slew of enemies.

In the meantime, Richie Roberts (Crowe) is a New Jersey cop whose personal life is a mess due to lies and infidelity, but in his professional life he can't tell a lie. When he's transferred to a special drug unit, Roberts goes on a mission to catch Lucas, whom he initially thinks is an Italian mobster. As time passes, Roberts slowly begins to discover that while Lucas is the bad guy, there are numerous dirty cops who are in on the monopoly too.

Now If You Could Just Help Me Find My Keys. . .
The characters in American Gangster are very one-dimensional. When Lucas brings his mother and five brothers, including Huey (Ejiofor) and Turner (Common) up from North Carolina, we never get a sense of whom they are. Ejiofor's talent is especially wasted in this role. Rappers T.I. and RZA do well in their parts and prove that the transition from hip-hop to acting can be a smooth move for some. Crowe is also great as the tough guy, which isn't too much of a stretch. Although American Gangster is based on the life of a real man, Frank Lucas still remains a mystery after the credits have rolled.