Written by Mitch Cyrus

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I can't wait to see this one.  A gangster movie, starring Denzel and Russell Crowe, and directed by Ridley Scott ... he of "Gladiator", "Blackhawk Down", and "Alien".  Mitch says you can lock up Denzel for a Best Actor Oscar nomination from this one, and that it will also warrant "Best Picture" consideration.  It opened STRONG at the box office this past weekend.  What did Mitch think of it?  Find out inside ...

After a fall movie season noted for nothing but low profile, high quality arts films ("Eastern Promises", "Gone Baby Gone") and high profile, low quality flops ("The Kingdom", "The Heartbreak Kid", "Elizabeth: The Golden Years"), we finally have the first Hit of the Awards season in the form of iconoclastic film director Ridley Scott's foray into Martin Scorsese territory; "American Gangster".  The movie has already stunned the "experts" by capturing the #1 position at the box office in its first week, grossing $5 million more than the over-hyped animated "Bee Movie" despite carrying an "R" rating and playing in almost a thousand less theaters. 

It's a good comeback for Scott, as his last three films have been considered failures.  The underappreciated con game film "Matchstick Men" befuddled viewers that were used to seeing bombastic films from Scott such as "Gladiator", "Black Hawk Down", and of course, his two most memorable movies, "Blade Runner" and "Alien".  His effort to return to big budget epics was a disaster, the universally panned "Kingdom of Heaven".  You would think it couldn't get worse for Scott, but it did, as his attempt to be a kinder, gentler director with a kinder, gentler Russell Crowe resulted in the god-awful "A Good Year" in 2006. 

So Ridley goes back to what he does best; getting A-List actors to appear in high profile, glitzy, bigger-than-life epics, and in that regard "American Gangster" is a rousing success.  It is top notch filmmaking at its finest, with a performance from Denzel Washington that makes him a lead pipe lock for a Best Actor Oscar nomination, and another surprising job from Russell Crowe, showing once again his amazing range as an actor. 

Is it a "great" movie?  No, it's not, and I'll get into that in more depth later.  It doesn't do what great gangster movies do; grab you by the throat and pull you into the story.  Rather, it takes it's time (2 hours and 40 minutes) introducing you to the characters, their motives, and their way of life.  Scott doesn't have Washington's Frank Lucas made into an anti-hero you root for, a la Michael Corleone, but he doesn't make Crowe's Richie Roberts into a "Serpico" level saint, either.  He turns an unblinking eye to both men; their virtues and their sins, letting the facts of this true life tale paint the complete picture. 

Denzel Washington has never been better in his portrayal of the real life drug lord of the late 60s/early 70s.  Frank Lucas spent years as the driver for Harlem underworld kingpin Bumpy Johnson, and upon his death, Lucas despaired at seeing the organization Bumpy worked so hard to create dissolve into petty squabbles amongst the survivors.  Needing to find something different to get himself above the flotsam, Lucas seized upon an idea as immoral as it was ingenious.  Taking advantage of the Vietnam War (and the corruption existing in the Armed Forces at that time), Lucas had pure heroin smuggled into the U.S. by military planes, hidden within the transport coffins of dead soldiers.  Eliminating the middle-man, Lucas was soon the undisputed king of crime in Harlem, going so far as to even have the Italian Mafia working in conjunction with him, but not as his boss. 

It was also a time of rampant corruption in law enforcement as well.  Into this environment comes New Jersey detective Richie Roberts, a cop not trusted by the rest of the force due to his refusal to take bribes.  This distrust from other cops makes him the perfect choice for a new drug task force being formed, and he and his hand picked crew are soon on the trail of the mysterious providers of a potent street dope that is exploding in its popularity with the underclass of New York City. 

Washington is fantastic in showing the multiple layers of Lucas; the smooth polish of his businessman charm is only a thin layer over his cold blooded ruthlessness. It's a much lower keyed portrayal than in his Academy Award winning turn in "Training Day"  yet he still embodies Lucas with the same unpredictable menace as he showed as Alonzo in that earlier film. 

Family, Lucas explains, is the most important thing to him...or so he says...an argument can be made that he simply wanted to bring his six brothers up from North Carolina because they would be a loyal insulation between himself and the rest of the world (including law enforcement).  Frank's obsession is in staying low key.  He avoids the "Super Fly" flash other Harlem gangsters employ, choosing standard business suits over the Huggy-Bear type pimp outfits preferred by his brother Huey (Chiwetel Ejiofor, in another solid performance) and rival gangster Nickey Barnes (Cuba Gooding Jr.).  Frank has his trophy wife, a former Miss Puerto Rico, and his fancy clubs and multiple houses, but he usually avoids the spotlight, making it harder for the cops to figure out who is behind the influx of the potent new drugs.  The rare exception is what begins his downfall. 

Credit goes to Scott for not glossing over Lucas' crimes.  While it may be only shown in passing, Scott includes scenes of the terrible price paid in this country for its addiction to narcotics; junkies dying horrible deaths in squalid conditions while the supplier lives the life of royalty. 

Roberts is purposely shown as the polar opposite of Lucas.  He is almost obsessive/compulsive in his insistence in remaining "an honest cop", but he skips the high moral ground on the rest of his life, especially in his cavalier attitude towards women, and his neglect of his soon-to-be ex-wife and young son, both of whom are far down on his priority list.  As a night school law student (later to be shown passing the bar exam), Richie has no time for relationships with anyone.  His law studies are just an extension of his police work, and that is all he has in his life. 

These are the types of roles that truly show the incredible ability of Russell Crowe.  The macho, grandiloquent portrayals of such larger-than-life characters as Jim Braddock in "Cinderella Man", Ben Wade in "3:10 to Yuma", Jack Aubrey in "Master and Commander" and certainly Maximus in "Gladiator" are 180 degrees different from these low-key portrayals of ordinary men.  His acting in this reminded me more of the first time I truly thought that Crowe might be a Great Actor, as reluctant whistle-blowing scientist Jeffrey Wigand in "The Insider". 

As all gangster movies go, "American Gangster" follows the usual formula of showing how the Main Gangster got his start, how he built up his empire, rising from nothing to the top of the world, and how it then all fell apart. 

Which, to me, is the reason why it's a Good Movie, and not a Great Movie.  There is a huge sense of "we've been here before" that permeates the film.  It seems that there is nothing in this flick that we hadn't already seen in "The Godfather", "Scarface", "The French Connection", "Casino", "New Jack City", and/or "Serpico".  Because of this familiarity, the emotional detachment style of Scott, and the fact that since it's based on a true story, we know the eventual outcome, the one adjective most surely missed in this film is "riveting".  It's not.  Unlike last year's brilliant mob flick "The Departed", you are never on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next. 

So, given my last paragraph of negativity, how can I say that "American Gangster" is a Good movie?  It's Good due to the fact that Scott, Washington, and Crowe have combined to make something very enjoyable to watch.  You simply cannot be bored watching Washington and/or Crowe, especially given the skill of the director to set the mood and depict a time that is well remembered by many of us, but shown in a very different light. 

It's a movie that pays homage to iconic 70s films like "The Godfather", "Superfly" and "Shaft" without a patronizing bone in its body, an intelligent, superbly crafted look at capitalism at its worse...a film that may not be a classic, but is definitely worth the time and money to see it at the theater.  This is the type of film that Oscar voters love, and it's a near certainty that it will at least be nominated for "Best Picture". 

Mitch, the movie fan, really liked it, and will be seeing it again when it hits DVD, if not sooner. 

Mitch, the movie critic, gives it... 

Frank Ryan (3 Footballs). 


Rating Key 

Otto Graham: Over 4 Footballs. HOF quality movie  
 
Bernie Kosar: 4 Footballs. Excellent  
 
Brian Sipe: 3½ Footballs. Very Good  
 
Frank Ryan: 3 Footballs. Good, solid film.  
 
Bill Nelsen: 2½ Footballs. OK. Worth seeing at the theater.  
 
Kelly Holcomb: 2 Footballs. Disappointingly inconsistent but some bright spots. Rent it on DVD.  
 
Tim Couch: 1½ Footballs. Poor. Had potential, but lack of support led to an overall stinker.  
 
Jeff Garcia: 1 Football. Horrible. All hype; no performance.  
 
Mike Phipps: ½ Football. "We gave away Paul Warfield for THIS?" level of suck