American Gangster
Movie Information
Genre:
Action | Crime
Main Cast:
Denzel Washington
Russell Crowe
Director:
Ridley Scott
About the movie:
American Gangster (2007) is based on the life story of Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts. Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) is a former international drug lord and crime boss in a major African American business and cultural center in Manhattan, New York known as Harlem during the late 1960's up to early 1970's. While Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), is a New Jersey police detective and Essex County Assistant Prosecutor.
The movie's plot revolves around the separate lives of a high class gangster and an ordinary police man and how their lives accidentally coincides. It features how Lucas engaged into a dark side of "rags to riches" story. He started as a driver of a mob boss that passed away, leaving the authority to him. He created his own empire to achieve his own American Dream. He ruled the inner city drug trades, dealing with the elite in politics, entertainment and the same field he's in.
Meanwhile, Richie Roberts is having a hard time dealing with his failing marriage, police career and law-school classes. His rampant womanizing resulted to a more complicated situation when his wife seeks a divorce and custody of their child. His colleagues hates him because of his rare honesty making him an outcast. He take the charge of the newly-built task force against the raging drug trafficking in the cities of New Jersey and New York.
As the drug-related crimes rises and as the police task force seeks the right timing to caught the man behind the rampant drug trafficking, Lucas and Roberts paths will become intertwined, as destined to be - where only one can come out on top.
American Gangster features the interesting personalities of the men of the opposite sides of the law and it tackles the issue of corruption and crime. Ridley Scott magnificently directed this gangster movie (this is the best movie so far of 2007) and the cast, Washington and Crowe give depth with their roles and acted brilliantly here.
