America's Most Unwanted

Pseudo True Crime Saga Tell no Tale
 by Morgan P Salvo


I came out of the theatre determined to put my finger on what was “missing” in this movie vowing aloud to figure it out.
American Gangster starts off good. It stays that way for a while too. Then it falls down all over the place. At first I was ecstatic to see a veritable cavalcade of cameos from various actors from all over the map, including Clarence Williams III, who croaks right away to set up the start of the movie. The movie takes you on mini-journeys of the two main characters, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe). I don’t know which one was more interesting, or in some cases less… they both left me wanting more. I wanted one good scene that really lets you in on what makes Frank tick…more than “what he learned from being Bumpy’s driver.” Same for Roberts – one really good argument with one of the women he was banging would have given us an insight into his dimensions.
The basic plot is that Frank Lucas comes up from the ranks to be the biggest and most profitable drug-lord in Harlem, out-maneuvering the mob and the corrupt cops. Lucas’s ticket to the top stems from his straightforward business acumen, his diligence to get things done and see things through his own way. He procures uncut heroin direct from Thailand and sells it for a discount under the brand name Blue Magic. His motto is simple: sell the best product at the lowest price. He never comes off as evil, although ruthless comes to mind. He is a stickler for doing things correctly, from his attitude to his clothes. “Never dress like a clown” - the only time he strays from his own philosophy is when the house of cards begins to crumble.
Roberts, on the other hand, is chastised by everyone on the police force for turning in a trunk load of stolen money, scorned and distrusted for being to honest. The showdown between the two becomes inevitable…their paths must cross, their destinies must converge, etc. When the Academy Award winning actors finally get to duel it out, the audience gets completely ripped-off with the five minute DeNiro/Pacino move from Heat.
No big stretch for the actors here. We’ve seen this before - Denzel can play a good or a bad guy with the same amount of charisma, and Crowe, macho dopey. They both show us a slow-burn in weirdly subdued performances. Josh Brolin ends up giving us the best moments as the crooked cop on the take. On the other hand we have Armand Assante in yet AGAIN the aging mafia boss role…jeez … why don’t they ever send him any new scripts?
Gangster takes place in the late 60’s- early 70’s.Director Ridley Scott makes it look nice and gritty. Special detail went into every scene, right down to payphones (remember payphones???) The original score was excellent. The music chosen as background, however, was generic. These period- piece “hits” have all been used in movies before… ALOT!
The film is based on a true story, but suffers from too much attention to getting it told. There was plenty of potential for confrontation and violence, given that Lucas and Roberts both pissed off most of the cops, mob and drug dealers in New York. Aside from one powerful scene in which Lucas points a gun at a rival’s head on a crowded street and a drug-bust shoot ‘em up, all of the scenes fell flat.
A lot of build-up for a quick summation ending, meaning after all the time it took to get there, it came to a screeching halt and became more of an instant epilogue. I noticed that the image on the screen wasn’t framed correctly, because I could see the microphone above the actors’ heads periodically. It was then I realized the movie wasn’t making that much of an impact on me. I was fine with the knowledge it was just a movie the whole time. I guess that’s what I was looking for—something to grab me and take me out of the moment, and it never did.

American Gangster
Starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Ortiz,Clarence Williams III,Lymari Nadal
Director:Ridley Scott
 1 1/2 stars