First off, I want to say that there was a twenty-five-looking man behind me while I was watching this. When Washington's character announces that he's going to Vietnam, and the scene following shows a man rowing a boat down a river, my movie-going partner exclaims, and I quote, "Holy shit, it's like the Amazon, dude!"
Now, on to the review.
I wanted to love American Gangster so badly that it hurt. It had everything going for it. Ridley Scott, exemplary director of Alien, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, working with Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, two actors so successful I need not list their previous wins. From the trailers that have been floating around for quite a while now, American Gangster looked to triumph as a modern crime classic while tackling race issues and offering powerful story-telling. Don’t get me wrong. American Gangster isn’t a bad movie. But it isn’t a good movie either.
The plot should have been picked up by Scorsese years ago: Richie Roberts (Crowe) is a New York cop on the hunt for drug lord Frank Lucas (Washington) in Vietnam-era Harlem. It’s a brilliant landscape for a timepiece crime flick and a lot of the fun in the film is derived from the sets. Washington’s first trek to Vietnam is one of the coolest scenes in the movie. The “just out of the box” microwave that makes an appearance later warrants a good laugh, and if you pay enough attention you’ll notice the television sets change from black and white to color. These subtle details constitute the Ridley Scott stamp of approval. This is quality filmmaking.
The performances are quality as well. Crowe and Washington deliver as promised, but I was particularly impressed with Frank’s mother (played by Ruby Dee) and Richie’s partner (John Ortiz), even though their roles are appropriately small. The music is fitting to the era, the settings are gritty and realistic, and the direction is spot-on.
The problems arise mainly from the script. From some of the early moments in the film, the audience is promised a crime drama that is not only about a cat-and-mouse game, but also about racial issues. Some of Lucas’s early lines of dialogue promise that the issue will be handled, but it never happens. I was continually wondering how Frank (and his father) got into a crime business entirely dominated by the Italian mob. But hey, at least it wasn't directed by Spike Lee, right? Thank the Lord Jesus.
My biggest qualm with the movie was the inevitable meeting between Lucas and Roberts, but not because it was disappointing. It is easily the most riveting scene in the film. However, it comes in the last ten minutes of an almost unbearably long drama. This wouldn’t have been a problem had Lucas and Roberts not crossed paths two and a half hours into the film. Now, these final cross encounters can work in a film to its advantage (see Scorsese’s inarguably superior The Departed for proof), but American Gangster isn’t quite compelling enough for that. And, although Washington does pull off the whole family man “bad guy” thing pretty well, it becomes increasingly apparent that the script relies on surprise brutal violence to keep the audience awake. Take the opening execution scene (Washington douses a man in gasoline, lights him on fire, and then pumps about seven rounds into him, followed by... the opening title...?) as a prime example. The scene is completely and totally unnecessary and does nothing that later scenes won't in order to establish that Washington is, indeed, a "badass."
Ultimately, American Gangster is less than the sum of its parts. It's boring. It's long. It lacks a sense of morality. It's like Scorsese, except dumbed down for urban late-teenagers. Don’t spend eight bucks to see it in the theatre. It’s perfectly suited for a weekend rental if you’re a fan of this type of movie. If you’re not, skip it and pop The Departed in again.
This is a movie (particularly a script) even Ridley Scott can't save.
--
SEE this movie if...
- You absolutely need to watch a crime drama.
- You love either Crowe or Washington. I don't love either, but if I did, there's nothing here to make my opinion change.
- You think every movie about drugs and crime is, by definition, brilliant.
DON'T see this movie if...
- You're expecting to see Washington and Crowe in a lot of scenes together.
- You are looking for a movie of substantial intellect or a sense of morality.
- You're on a date or a tight schedule.
