Rating of
3.5/4
Review - American Gangster (2007)
Delorted - wrote on 10/31/07
In the 1970's, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) ran a drug empire without the police ever suspecting a thing, that is until Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) came on the scene in the film, "American Gangster."
This film is based on the real life crime lord Frank Lucas and his reign in New York City from 1969 to 1975. His legacy was apparently very accurately documented, as the main consultants for the film were the real-life Lucas and Roberts. It's amazing watching this film and realizing how long he went unnoticed and unsuspected by the NYPD. The only problem with writing in this film is that it's nothing new. Roberts' marriage problems were depicted in the film in a very cliché way that has been seen too many times in film before. Other than that, the writing seems pretty solid.
There not much else about this film that is worth commenting on. The acting is very well done and the actors obviously worked very hard at making themselves these people. The fact of the matter is though that the film just isn’t new. And before you say “but it’s based on a true story,” that’s not my point. Just because it’s an intriguing story in real life, that doesn’t make it as intriguing on film. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, but there are a dozen others just like it I could have watched and felt the same way about. In short, it’s definitely worth seeing, and it definitely can't be overlooked by the Academy come Oscar time.
Acting: 9/10
Writing: 8/10
Video/Editing: 8/10
Audio/Music: 8/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Final Score: 8.2/10
