American Gangster (2007)

Very disappointing...

Must See Movie...

Best movie ever!

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Denzel Washington puts on one of his best performances in this top class mob movie. Based on a real life African American crime boss, this film succeeds in bringing his story to life. While other crime films focus on the Italian or Irish mafia scene the best being the infamous Godfather Trilogy this movie is highly original in telling the story of a Black Crime family. What's like with almost all truly great mob movies like Goodfellas or Casino is that the character is ambiguous looking out for his family. The times he is living in (70's) with the international dealers he has to deal with shows that the character has to make a living somehow and of course his violent tendencies is a big reveal into the real world of the mob as opposed to the exaggerated or gentlemen approach taken in other mob movies. The movie is full of action, suspense and mystery as the cops try to figure out who is behind the recent drug epidemic. This series foreshadows Breaking Bad which became a major series in the 00s. This movie is up there with the Godfather and Scarface in showing us how the criminal fraternity really operates.

That movie gave me chills from start to end. Masterpiece Denzel is just a phenomenon actor. I wanted to see more after watching the movie. What happened to his wife? Have they had kids? Thanks for google all my questions were answered. Thank you for the great entertainment :-) I can't wait to watch some more ... they are forcing us to write at least 5 lines ...

One of the things I love most about Ridley Scott is his willingness to try everything, he's tried his hand at almost every genre in his career and while it's hasn't always workout for him I always admire the effort. But I don't just have to admire the effort here because I loved this movie, it's one of Ridley Scott's best and one of the greatest movies of 2007. A large part of that is due to its two central characters. I loved the character of Frank Lucas in this film he was so captivating I loved seeing his arc and business acumen and is by far one of Denzel Washingtons best and most complex performances. Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott are great together I loved Crowes character because again he was a complex one I loved seeing him want more than what he had and I loved the scenes between these two characters. The world of Harlem in this movie just sucks you right in you immediately see what kind of place this is and see what's been done to it by people like Lucas. Another thing I loved about this movie was the fact that everything had consequences, we see with our own eyes the fallout of Lucas' dealings and make him a more well rounded character. I think this movie has some of the best uses of violence in a movie because it's used to enhance the story, the extra blood or close ups of drug ridden dead bodies sucks us into the atmosphere more. I also really liked Josh Brolin in this movie I thought his character added something to this movie his story arc of being a corrupt police officer paralleled very nicely with Crowes head strong, good-cop arc and added to the bleak atmosphere Scott was trying to create. other characters I loved seeing were Lucas' brother it set up a nice dynamic between them, it's was good to see them get sucked into this world and I thought it added to Washingtons character to see him slowly isolate everyone he loves and creates for some really disturbing sequences. If I have one flaw with this movie it would be that it's definitely similar in terms of style and tone to other Gangster flicks but if it works for what To filmmakers are trying to accomplish and it does just that then I'm fine with that for the most part but the only area I thought this didn't quite work for was the love story I just didn't think it added anything to this film and I didn't really buy the chemistry between the two. This is a fast paced, entertaining and long lasting crime thriller, it's one of Scott's best movies with great performances, very good character dynamics and arcs. It's definitely similar to other movies of this genre but it doesn't hold this movie back from its greatness. 91%/A

After his mentor is killed, "Frank Lucas" (Denzel Washington) decides to assume his former boss' place as the key drug dealer in Harlem. However, there are other drug lords who have also been waiting for this opportunity and they have decided to move into this territory as well. Because of that Frank takes a huge gamble and, rather than dealing with established middle men for his heroin, decides to procure his product directly from an original source—Thailand. This results in his being able to obtain pure heroin and cut it up to his own standards which happens to be of a better quality and for a cheaper price than anybody else can match in New York. Needless to say, this increases his customer base at the expense of the Mafia. And that doesn't make them very happy. It also increases his visibility to various law enforcement agencies for completely different reasons. Some want him off the streets while those more corrupt want to share in the profits. Regardless, a lot of people suddenly become interested in him and that means trouble—for everyone. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this is one of the better drug-related movies out there with Denzel Washington performing in a very excellent manner. Russell Crowe (as "Detective Richie Roberts") also performs well but make no mistake—this is Denzel Washington's movie all the way. In any case, I enjoyed this movie and have rated it accordingly. Definitely above average.