Denzel Washington playing the role of a ruthless drug lord seems so “badass” that it’s no wonder there was so much hype out there for the film “American Gangster.” Even the theater was packed 15 minutes before the film started. Was this to be the next “Godfather”? Well, sort of.
The film is based on the true-life events of Harlem-based heroin kingpin Frank Lucas (brilliantly played by Washington) during the turbulent Vietnam War era. Lucas was the driver to Harlem’s leading black crime boss, Bumpy Johnson, his mentor. When he died, Lucas took over and built his own empire through strict and thorough business ethics. With his dream in place, all he needed was his family and a beautiful wife by his side.
The other storyline is Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), a bad family man but a detective with professional integrity amid a corrupt police force. He knows the streets of New York so well that he detects a power shift but does not know where this “Blue Magic” heroin is coming from. Gradually, he identifies the source as Lucas, and nothing is going to stop him from bringing him down.
An interesting aspect is the moral contrast between Roberts and Lucas. The morally upright cop who lacks family values is set in opposition to the heroin dealer whose product kills but operates on principles of loyalty and respect for his family.
With Ridley Scott in the director’s chair, steady pacing with bursts of action and intense imagery, crisp “street” dialogue and solid acting all around help make this two-and-a-half-hour film enthralling. Despite the film’s epic length, there is rarely a dull moment.
The “badass” tone is set in the opening scene with Lucas setting a man ablaze while shooting him. Another memorable sequence is halfway through where a scene of Lucas having a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner with his family is interwoven with scenes of junkies overdosing on his product and children crying over twitching bodies. Also worth mentioning is Roberts looking for heroin in the coffins of dead soldiers, not to mention the naked women working in a drug lab.
A realistic late ’60s/early ’70s feel to the film is accomplished with shots of war sequences and Nixon speaking on television, wing-styled cars, a rocking ’60s soundtrack and those pimp hats that the Harlem bosses wear. The turning point in the film is the re-created Muhammad Ali fight, where Roberts notices Lucas with the best seats and flashiest clothes in the place.
What keeps this film from being a classic, however, is that the plot is too ambitious as it is split between Denzel and Crowe. Crowe’s character is interesting when he pursues Lucas, but his personal problems with his wife and son seem tedious and slow down the film, especially when compared to the visually captivating scenes such as Lucas slamming heads in baby pianos.
Because the film is plot-heavy, the many supporting characters don’t show much depth. The corrupt detective Trupo (Josh Brolin) is purely one-dimensional, which is a shame considering he’s a pretty major character. Lucas’ Puerto Rican beauty-queen wife is simply just there. She and Lucas do not have children, which makes it harder to care for them.
Too many characters cause some confusion and take time away from Washington, who carries the film. Lucas is the “American Gangster,” and a tighter focus should be on him and not on the other characters or storylines. A narration by Lucas throughout the film would have caused the audience to care for him more because they would feel what he is feeling, something that “Goodfellas” perfectly accomplished.
As much as we may love Crowe or cameos by Cuba Gooding Jr., we watch the film because Washington is playing the ruthless-but-realistic villain, a role meant for him. If more focus had been placed on him, his emotions and his storyline, this film would have been great. But overall, it’s a good rise-and-fall gangster film definitely worth viewing, and it’s really cool to hear Denzel saying “My man” again, perhaps even better than he did in “Training Day.”
