BlackListed! Magazine

American Gangster is just as cool and gangsteresh as the previews hyped it up to be. The movie follows the life of Frank Lucas, the king of drug dealers in Harlem during the 70’s. Director Ridley Scott delivers an ultra-realistic world, where the drug families rule and dirty cops are as rampant as heroin. It’s subtlety suspenseful and fast-paced, making you forget it’s two and a half hours.

But what really makes the movie is the complex characters, particularly the two leads, Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts played by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, respectively.

Washington portrays a cool, don’t-f-with-me Frank Lucas who overcomes racism through his smarts to become the top dog in the gangster world. Lucas is mean, ruthless and short tempered, but you love him, because he’s cool, calculative and of course—he loves his family. And nobody but Washington could have played such a complicated role so well. But, I have to say, the Denzel mannerisms were a bit too familiar. Anybody who’s seen a lot of his movies may at some points ask yourself, “Have I seen this before?”

Russell Crowe delivered yet another flawless performance. He embodied the too honest Jersey cop, Richie Roberts, invoking sympathy with his all-telling eyes. The story is as much about him as Frank Lucas, and he succeeds in making Richie Roberts as important and interesting as the American gangster.

But who could forget about the supporting actors? Well, they are actually that forgettable. The rappers, Common, T.I. and RZA, share about seven lines between them.  British actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, was the most surprising since he doesn’t show up in the previews. Acting as Frank Lucas’ loose canon brother, he was the most interesting of the supporting cast, but his character could have been more developed.

Even though the true crime/ syndicate drama has been done over and over again, Scott and his two leads add so much originality and emotion that American Gangster will easily become a classic.  I predict golden statues all around to Scott, Crowe and Washington. They deserve it.