by Wes Laurie

Created on: February 11, 2008

American Gangster was one of those projects that went through several different variations and directors before actually getting made. At one point and time it was known as The Return of Superfly, as well as the original screenplay being title Tru Blu. Actors such as Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Ray Liotta, Joaquin Phoenix, Dania Rameriez, and John C. Reilly were all at one point and time either attached or being perused for the project; in fact Tony Soprano himself James Gandolfini turned down a role. Even after a bunch of false starts the project finally got made, yet was snubbed by the Oscars and has brought on lawsuits against Universal and NBC from DEA Agents insulted by their portrayal in the film. So, after all of the trouble and turmoil, was American Gangster worth making and a film worth watching?

American Gangster was directed by Ridley Scott and stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in the leads with support from Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr, and musical personas: TI, Common, and the RZA. It is the story of Frank Lucas, a man who rose to power in the 1970's drug trade and detective Richie Roberts who headed up a unit meant to stop him.

American Gangster has become an instant classic with rap superstars it would seem, with artist Jay Z being so inspired that he named an entire album after it. On an influential scale it is indeed a cinematic masterpiece of sorts, gives you that epic feel. Perhaps this is in part to it being an almost 3 hour long movie. To say it runs at a brisk pace would be wrong, it does plod along rather slowly for a lot of the time, but the dynamics of the acting and the few unique aspects keep things interesting. It was the unrated version that I viewed, with the difference in run times being 157 minutes theatrical and 176 unrated.

Denzel Washington goes into a performance and always comes out as Denzel Washington; this can be a good and a bad thing. The only stand out performance in my opinion for the actor was as the bad cop in Training Day, and in American Gangster he is once again playing a person who doesn't even blink an eye when it comes to shooting someone down in the street. The opening sequences introduce you to him with violence right off the bat and it is a tricky balance between that ferocious mentality and trying to be an inspirational, leader-like historical figure that Washington must navigate. Indeed, he was the man for the job. Russell Crowe is almost never a bad choice for a role and fills

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