American Gangster

And here lies the dangers of anticipation. I wanted American Gangster to be one of the best movies that I have ever seen and that is just a completely unfair level of expectation. What I was left with when I walked out of the theater was an inexplicable level of disappointment over seeing a great film. What the hell is wrong with me? This has a great story, great direction, and great acting, and it wasn’t enough for my greedy ass.

Is there a better genre than cops and gangsters? If I was forced to choose a movie completely based on genre, this is what I would choose. It is such a solid base for a film that once the names Ridley Scott, Denzel Washington, and Russell Crowe appeared I couldn’t help but get excited. And honestly I have been following American Gangster through all of its iterations over the last few years, Don Cheadle and Joaquin Phoenix directed by Terry George and then Denzel Washington and Benicio del Toro directed by Antoine Fuqua, but the final trio probably allowed for the biggest and best version of the story.

The problem, if you want to even call it a problem, was that American Gangster did not become my favorite, Ridley Scott, Denzel Washington, or Russell Crowe movie. The three of them all delivered exactly what you would expect. It hovered near greatness but never truly stepped over the line. The movie looked authentic and never felt long. Ridley kept everything moving even if it meant that many of the great actors were there for just a line or 2 and never fully explored. Denzel turned Frank Lucas into a Denzel character. That has its good and its bad aspects. For one it’s Denzel and he is as consistent as you get but the bad is that he never truly transcends here like he did in Training Day. As for Russell, well the man is game for anything and he takes the lesser of the 2 roles and turns Richie Roberts nearly into Frank Lucas’ equal. Washington and Crowe’s one-on-one scene almost reached the level of DeNiro and Pacino at the coffee shop in Heat and I know no greater level of praise. Oh and before I move on, I want to complement Josh Brolin. That man has truly raised his game this year and was pitch-perfect as the bent cop leaning on Lucas.

Fine, there was all that important stuff to deal with but lets get to the real goods of American Gangster. Should I start with RZA? Because he was there and he had the 70s clothes, and hair, and he was just the RZA except not so much. Plus I would assume the clothes and the hair were all Bobby Digital and there was no wardrobe or wig action going on there. Or how about Joe Morton with the wispy mustache and smoking a pipe? A PIPE! If that doesn’t do it for you then I’ll give you Stringer Bell transported 30 years into the past and acting like Stringer Bell in the late 60s. Okay fine you want more, well maybe you can tell me how with all the Italian actors out there the name that was pulled for American Gangster was Armand Assante. Has he been in a major motion picture since Stiptease? And of course Lucas’ heroin connection would be Ric Young. He is a go-to guy for that role. Just tons of great periphery stuff going on here.

There is a chance that when I look back on American Gangster I will reevaluate my grade. I brought such a high level of anticipation into the theater that I'm unsure that I am grading it with a level head at the moment. There is not much to criticize here but at the same time I am not giving this a 10 out of 10. So I must have wanted something more and I can't for the life of me figure out what it is. I should go back and see it a second time, maybe that will clarify things.

9 out of 10