Across 110th Street..........

I was lucky enough to get into a free screening for the much-anticipated Ridley Scott crime epic American Gangster. I guess this blog is finally good for something. Here's my early review:

American Gangster

2007
Directed by Ridley Scott

Despite what many critics say, Russel Crowe is not our generation's Steve McQueen. He's not the new Paul Newman, or Richard Burton, Nicholson, Caine, or even Pacino. No............the fact of the matter is that Russel Crowe is our Russel Crowe, and as much as it shames me to type those incredibly hammy and cliche words, it's the honest truth. There's no other way to put it. The man is in his prime, the type of prime that builds legendary actors. He has starred in not one, but two of the best films of 2007 (3:10 to Yuma), and in both he overtakes entire ensemble casts of great actors. The same can be said about Denzel Washington, the real focus and star of this movie, as there is probably nobody else that could have done this character justice quite like he does.

Frank Lucas was the right-hand man to Bumpy Johnson, one of the most famous black gangsters in American history, the man who ran prohibition-era Harlem. Lucas learned everything from him, and when Bumpy died, Lucas took his spot in the New York City crime underworld. And then some. Through a cousin in the military during Vietnam, he managed to secure a heroin supply straight from Indonesia. The purest of the pure, while the rest of the flashy Harlem drug kingpins (Nicky Barnes most notably, portrayed in this film by Cuba Gooding Jr.) sold weak product, diluted and cut to shit. And he sold his for half as cheap. He gained a monopoly fast, putting everyone else out of business, and eventually going over the heads of even the most prominent New York Italian mafia families, to whom he paid no dues. But he did offer them a deal to buy their product from him. It was unprecedented. On the other side of the law, there was Richie Roberts (Russel Crowe), an almost inconceivably honest cop surrounded by crooked ones, who is assigned to lead the efforts to take Lucas down.

This film wastes no time, in true Ridley Scott fashion. From the moment the first images hit the screen with a thundering bass and string score, you know you're in for a visceral visit to a surreal and gritty version of an already gritty reality. And however inconsistent Scott has been throughout the years, that's one thing you can count on from him. A unique experience.

This movie works on many levels. An intelligent drama. A 1970's period piece with immutable authenticity. A dual character study of two men devoted to principle in their own opposite ways. A truly exciting and fluid action movie, which by the way is nice to see after the frustratingly unwatchable action sequences we've seen in Transformers and other films this year. But most impressively, it is both a nuanced noir and a big-budget gangster shoot-em-up at the same time, a formula that really makes me happy to see done right. It also works as a kind of drug dealer procedural (yeah, I just made up a genre. Credit me damnit) with a myriad of heroin schemes reminiscent of The French Connection. And just incase you had any doubt, one of the Italian mobsters actually makes that same comparison by referring to one drug operation as, and I quote, "This is the French Connection dope". Not exactly subtle, but it reminds you that many of the greatest fictional crime movies from the 70's were based on real life events, and that the story of Frank Lucas is a gripping one in that mold. Almost everything about Lucas's story is exaggerated here for effect. For example, Bumpy Johnson died at a nightclub, not in an electronics store while giving a dramatic speech about the "good ol' days". And I highly doubt all of Lucas's cocaine baggers were really supermodels (believe me I'm not complaining). But as film is an exaggerated medium by nature, I really don't think anyone is going to give a damn. I sure don't.

".......then you just throw in
some parsley leaves and BAM,
turkey noodle casserole."

The supporting cast is sprawling and superb. Every role is filled with talented actors and actresses. We get to see more of Chiwetel Ejiofor, who as I said in my last review, had a breakout role in the Petey Greene biopic Talk to Me earlier this year. He's solid here as well, playing Lucas's brother. Another one of the better minor characters is Josh Brolin (star of the upcoming No Country for Old Men) as a crooked detective with his own drug and shakedown operation. The great Ruby Dee plays Lucas's mother. Wu-tang don RZA plays a cop on Crowe's team. We also see two other rappers, Common and T.I., playing father and son in Frank Lucas's family-staffed crime syndicate. And we see them like we should always see rappers in films............in 2 minute increments. But seriously, I have to point out, with so many rappers getting face-time in this movie, and with an unnecessary but always welcomed cameo from Fab 5 Freddy that comes out of nowhere, one might jump to the conclusion that Ridley Scott is a, *gasp*, hip hop head?!? Well, probably not, but just for the sake of my own entertainment I'm gonna keep imagining him bangin' out to Sean Price in his Lamborghini while sipping green tea. It's just better that way.

I also really enjoyed seeing Idris Elba (Better known as Stringer Bell from The Wire) in a great, if brief, role as a rival Harlem gangster threatening Lucas's control of the neighborhood. Idris doesn't always choose the best scripts (The Reaping, etc), or maybe he's just not offered the best. But when he is given a chance with a strong character, he consistently proves that he has a very powerful presence on screen. Top billing presence, if you ask me. There is a scene between Denzel and Elba in this film that is truly unforgettable. I'll just leave it at that. The kind of scene that people tend to remember in movies like this.

You know, one major advantage to the gangster movie genre in general, is that it appeals to the masses. Always has, always will. So you know that when a great one comes along, it will get all the recognition it deserves. It definitely won't be overlooked. And just as it was with another of my favorite films from 2007, David Fincher's Zodiac, I'm sure the biggest critical complaint we will hear about American Gangster will be in regard to the 2+ hour length of the film. For the most part though, this is just a half-ass method of writing a "balanced" review. You have to find SOME flaw, right? But trust me, when the only real complaint from critics is that an amazing movie is amazing for too long, you're in safe territory.

As for me, I can't recommend this movie enough. I believe it's Ridley Scott's best film since Blade Runner, exactly 25 years ago. It comes out November 2nd, so definitely go check it out.