American Gangster was one of the best shows I have ever watched. Marvelous screenplay, excellent acting by the two leads and an extremely intricate storyline made for an extremely good watch. Anyway, below is my take on the movie... Go watch yar!!! This movie sure makes up for the other shitty stuff on screen now...
“Spoiler Alert”
Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, a disciplined and intelligent black gangster, runs much of Harlem and imparts his wisdom onto his former driver turned right-hand man, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington). When Johnson dies of a heart attack in 1968 at an electronics store, “Bumpy”’s domain threatens to get split and divided amongst the other gangs in the area. Frank dislikes the new, flashy gangsters and decides to take control. To gain money and power, he travels to Southeast Asia. With the help of his cousin, an Army Senior NCO, strikes a deal with a Thai general who supplies him with pure heroin. Frank then has the drugs transported back to America via military service planes, hidden in the coffins of dead U.S. soldiers from the Vietnam War.
Frank’s unique drug supply enables him to sell extemely potent drugs (“Blue Magic” heroin) at low prices. He quickly makes a fortune and buys several nightclubs and apartments. He moves his family from North Carolina to New Jersey, where he purchases a large estate for his humble mother. His five brothers are enlisted as his lieutenants in the NYC drug trade – forming “The Country Boys,” who work together to traffic and sell dope on the streets of Harlem. During his rise, Frank meets and falls in love with Eva, a Puerto Rican beauty queen. Through his discipline, organization, and ruthelessness, Frank quickly rises to the top of the Harlem drug and crime scene.
Meanwhile in Newark, New Jersey, detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is juggling a failing marriage, late-night law school classes, and his police career. When Richie and his partner, Javier Rivera, discover nearly $1 million in unmarked bills in a car, Richie resists temptation and turns the money in. His rare honest ways make him a hated member of his precinct eventually resulting in his partner being exiled from the force. Richie's rampant womanizing behavior leads his wife to seek a divorce and custody of their son. After his exiled partner dies from overdosing on Blue Magic, Richie's honesty catches him a break when his superior Captain Lou Toback (Ted Levine) puts him in charge of a newly created task force to stop drug trafficking in Essex County, New Jersey and New York City. Richie handpicks honest cops and gets to work on finding who is supplying Blue Magic.
As Frank's business prospers, he makes a point of operating quietly and dressing with a modest conservatism both as a sign of strength and to avoid attracting the attention of the law. However, Frank disregards this habit for his wife for one ostentatious night out, attending a Muhammad Ali boxing match with several known mobsters in a US$25,000 fur coat and hat, and with a ring-side seat. Roberts, who was staking out the match, sees this unknown, but obviously wealthy, person associating with high-level criminals, as well as having better seats than the Italian mafia. Robert becomes suspicious, and he begins to investigate this unknown (to him) figure in New York organized crime.
Even as Frank realizes he has exposed himself to police scrutiny, he must make deals with the Italian mafia and fend off corrupt NYC detectives, such as Det. Trupo (Josh Brolin), who extort and threaten him. Trupo's dislike of Frank is capped when his prized 350 Shelby Mustang is bombed before his eyes. He must also contend with local crime figure Nicky Barnes (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who is taking some of Frank's product, diluting it himself, and selling it under Frank's "brand" name. Unidentified assassins try to kill Frank’s wife, further destabilizing him and worsening his unsteady marriage. Things finally take a turn for the worse when Frank sees the U.S. Military vacating Vietnam, which in turn cuts off his primary mode of transportation for his goods.
Richie catches another break when his men witness the driver of one of Frank’s top soldiers shooting a woman. They use the driver’s bad predicament to get him to wear a wire. The wire allows Richie and his task force to discover when a plane carrying drugs is landing. Meanwhile, Trupo leads his band of police officers to Frank's mother's mansion where they take Frank's emergency cash supply. When the plane lands, Richie and his men follow the drugs into Newark's projects and obtain a warrant. A huge group of police and detectives attack the drug apartments en masse and a large shootout occurs. Frank is at church when the bust goes down, but he is arrested after the service ends. Frank and Richie finally meet, and Frank’s attempts to bully Richie are unsuccessful.
With no other options, Frank decides to provide names of numerous other criminals, including his and Richie’s common enemies: corrupt NYC detectives. Numerous corrupt cops are arrested; a distraught Trupo kills himself to avoid arrest. Richie, having passed the Bar Exam, prosecutes Frank, but he leaves the prosecutor's office after the Lucas trial. The first client he takes after becoming a defense attorney is Frank. Because of his cooperation, Frank receives a relatively light sentence of 15 years rather than the original 70. At the film’s end, he steps out of jail to the sounds and era of the 1990s, significantly older and out of place.
American Gangster is a really good movie, the best to hit the screens in a long while. Coupling amazing acting with really dramatic scenes that shed a new light on drug-trafficking, I’d give it a definite 9.5 out of 10. Though there have been so many other drug/crime cop films out there, American Gangster proves to provide viewers with a fresh new perspective on the drug scene in the United States from the late 60s to the early 70s. Washington and Crowe were excellent in portraying the two adversaries and this show is a testament to their excellent ratings as A-class actors. No one else besides these two could have pulled this off so magnificently. There have been countless crime/ drug lord/ gangster flims made and American Gangster may come across as another one of those. But don't let that sway you if you enjoy good movies or crime films. American Gangster is so much more than that, with themes of loyalty and perseverance, making it an extremely wholesome (questionable use of the word wholesome but definitely an insightful) flick to catch. And also, Frank Lucas is one hell of an interesting personality. My Man…..
"All good things come to an end" - Nelly Futardo
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