Susan Granger’s review of “American Gangster” (Universal Pictures)
Based on the true story of an enterprising hoodlum who became a billionaire by dominating the Harlem drug scene, Ridley Scott’s crime drama has been called “Superfly” meets “Serpico.”
Back in the 1970s, when drug trafficking belonged to the Mafia, amiable, soft-spoken Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) chauffeured one of New York’s most notorious African-American mobsters, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson. After his boss/mentor dies, Lucas quietly begins building his own empire. Astutely eliminating the middle man, he flies to Thailand to import heroin directly from Southeast Asia, arranging to have kilos hidden in caskets of American soldiers loaded onto military transports flying to New York from Vietnam.
Lucas’ “Blue Magic” is not only purer heroin but cheaper; twice the potency, it sells for half as much. Soon he’s making up to $1 million a day. While this entrepreneurship baffles and infuriates his rivals, it also catches the attention of Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), a stubbornly incorruptible New Jersey cop who is determined to put him in prison, despite Lucas’ bribing the corrupt detective (Josh Brolin) heading New York’s anti-drug Special Investigations Unit.
Written by Steven Zaillian (Oscar-winner for “Schindler’s List”) from a New York magazine article (“The Return of Superfly”) by Mark Jacobson, it boosts director Ridley Scott up from his 2006 comedy debacle, “A Good Year,” also starring Russell Crowe, but, surprisingly, it offers little story-telling originality and gets downright tedious at times. But that’s not the fault of the Oscar-winning leads – Washington and Crowe – who deliver strong performances, as do Josh Brolin and Ruby Dee, as Lucas’ mother.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “American Gangster” is a well-crafted but eerily familiar 7, evoking memories of better gangster movies like “The Godfather,” “Scarface,” “Heat,” “GoodFellas” and “The Departed.”
