Superfly meets Serpico

By Adam Tobias of the Daily Times staff
Friday, November 2, 2007 3:18 PM CDT

In this photo provided by Universal Studios, Denzel Washington, left, and Russell Crowe star in director Ridley Scott’s crime drama “American Gangster.” (Associated Press)

Is it really possible to create a movie about a person who made millions of dollars by killing people and ruining the lives of thousands by flooding the streets with heroin and make him likable?

With “American Gangster,” Denzel Washington and director Ridley Scott prove that, yes, you actually can.

And that's no easy feat, especially when you consider that in the opening scene of “American Gangster” Washington, who plays real-life drug mogul Frank Lucas, douses a bloody and battered rival with gasoline, sets him on fire and puts him out of his misery with a barrage of bullets.

Washington has said on several occasions that he didn't want to glamorize Frank Lucas, but rather show the horrible effect he had on a lot of people's lives during the late 1960s and early '70s. Washington may have not wanted to glorify the Harlem drug dealer, but with his superb acting skills he has created one of the coolest gangsters since Tony Montana.

Frank pretty much flew under the radar when he was the right-hand man to Harlem kingpin Bumpy Johnson (Clarence Williams III), but when his boss suddenly passes away he refuses to let others erase the legacy of the man who taught him almost everything he knows.

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In an attempt to take control of the inner-city drug trade, Frank travels to Southeast Asia to deal directly with the suppliers and get his hands on the highest quality of heroin. By cutting out the middleman, Frank is able to sell a product that's better than the competition at a lower price.

As Frank starts his rise to power, honest Jersey cop Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is struggling to regain the trust of his fellow officers. Most of the other cops in the department are just as corrupt as the thugs who walk the streets, and Richie raises eyebrows when he turns in close to $1 million in found drug money instead of keeping it all for himself.

Richie especially ruffles the feathers of Detective Trupo (Josh Brolin) of the New York Special Investigations Unit, who lets anyone sell drugs on the streets as long as they give him a hefty portion of the profits.

Although Richie must constantly look over his shoulder for cops who want to take him down, he knows he can't stand by and watch the people of Harlem throw their lives away. Richie believes someone is climbing the rungs above the known Mafia families and speculates that a black power has come out of nowhere to dominate the scene.

Franks usually stays low key, but he accidentally brings attention to himself during an Ali-Frazier fight when he wears an extravagant chinchilla coat and hat, which prompts Richie to suspect that he is the man behind everything. With his newly assembled group of undercover detectives, Richie vows to stop at nothing to bring Frank to justice.

With a running time of 157 minutes, “American Gangster” never seems like it runs too long thanks to Scott's (“Blade Runner,” “Black Hawk Down” and “Gladiator”) use of parallel cutting. The movie bounces back between the stories of Frank and Richie and the camera never stays on one of them for too long. The two Academy Award-winning actors get equal screen time but they don't actually lock horns until the last 15 minutes of the film, which really helps heighten the tension.

Another interesting aspect of “American Gangster” is the fact that the personal lives of Frank and Richie are the complete opposite of their professional lives and they live by a different moral code.

Frank may be a ruthless killer, but he is respected in the community and he takes care of his family, including his mother (Ruby Dee) and his wife (Lymari Nadal). Richie may follow the letter of the law, but the divorced father never has time for his son, probably because he is too busy sleeping around with different women.

Washington and Crowe will most likely get all of the accolades for “American Gangster,” and deservedly so, but the actor who pulls the biggest surprise performance is Brolin, who has come a long way since playing Mikey's older brother in “The Goonies.” The two leads may have each won Academy Awards for their acting, but Brolin's portrayal as a criminal with a badge will be hard to forget and he deserves just as much praise as Crowe and Washington.

The one downfall to “American Gangster” is that its material is not all that fresh, but even though it is similar to the likes of “Scarface,” “Superfly” and “Serpico,” it is so much fun that you won't even notice or care.

4 1/2 stars (out of 5)

Comments can be directed to Adam at adamt@wdtimes.com.