Critique: Film> Reviews.

"The man I worked for had one of the biggest companies in New York City. He didn't own his own company. White man owned it, so they owned him. Nobody owns me, though."

-- Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington)

Ridley Scott's American Gangster is a good film -- and I mean "good" in the sense that it has similar elements to the classic gangster hits that many of us grew to love.

It's familiar, yes, but unfortunately that's also the film's main problem; it doesn't quite have enough to convince us that it is worthy of our attention, especially considering that it is only one film in a huge catalogue of very good films within the same genre. On top of that, it's just too long.

Based on the true story of Harlem drug dealer Frank Lucas, Denzel Washington is the man with the desire to cut out the middle man and obtain a purer product at a better price. He travels to Bangkok to discuss a deal with the Chinese nationalist general and his cousin, who is currently serving as a soldier in Vietnam. After all is agreed, the drugs are transported back to America via military service planes and sold on the streets. Lucas soon develops a reputation as the most respected and feared ruler of inner city drug trade.

Out to stop him is Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), a cop who is distrusted within a majority of the precinct for his honesty in turning in $1 million in drug money (shades of Serpico here). When Lucas' 'Blue Magic' crosses his path, Richie is put in charge of a newly created task force that aims to stop the drug flow on the streets and put Lucas behind bars for good.

American Gangster is never boring, but it's never overly exciting, either. Now I know Ridley Scott likes to emphasize character development, but I really feel as if he overdoes it sometimes. Here, for example, there are various subplots -- such as Roberts' custody battle and his random sexual encounters with women -- that are just not needed. This is supposed to be a story about one of the most distinguished organized crime bosses, not Roberts' personal life.

Still, I managed to excuse the above point at the time of watching in hope that I would see some big face-off between the old-school bad guy and old-school good guy, similar to that of De Niro and Pacino in Heat -- the film was two-hours-forty- minutes long after all. However, I think Washington and Crowe spent about ten minutes together overall, and I was left feeling disappointed.

Individually, at least, both actors can be credited for solid performances.

Washington is the seemingly laidback most of the time, though we always get an inkling that he is capable of some serious damage if pushed too far. This is particularly evident when he ends up shooting one of his old adversaries in broad daylight and then calmly goes back to finish his breakfast at the diner, as if completely unfazed.

Crowe is as compelling as we've come to expect, even if his character is overwritten. He's performance is easily on a par with Washington's.

Overall, what American Gangster lacks is memorable scenes. Aside from the aforementioned street shooting scene, I'm really struggling to think of another that really stands out. It's not necessarily Ridley Scott's fault, however, as this genre of movie is so full with great movies that it's becoming harder and harder to come up with something new to preserve in our memory as time goes on.

I blame The Godfather for setting the standards so high.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.