American Gangster (Unrated Extended Edition)
Ridley Scott
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Plot Summary
Academy Award® winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe team with director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) in this powerful, epic story. Armed with ruthless, streetwise tactics and a strict sense of honor, crime boss Frank Lucas (Washington) rules Harlem's chaotic drug underworld. When outcast cop Richie Roberts (Crowe) sets out to bring down Lucas's multimillion-dollar empire, it plunges both men into a legendary confrontation. American Gangster Unrated includes over 18 minutes of additional footage not shown in theaters and an alternate ending!
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Movie Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes
TOMATOMETER
79%- Reviews Counted: 208
- Fresh: 165
- Rotten: 43
- Average Rating: 7.0/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: An intelligent, well-made and seductive movie.
Fresh: Washington's steely grip on his impersonation of Frank Lucas holds the film together.
Rotten: For all its grit, style and atmosphere, Gangster never sweeps you away. It has neither the lurid bravado of De Palma's "Scarface" nor the intimate grasp of the criminal lifestyle you find in Scorsese or Coppola.
Fresh: American Gangster is an enjoyable double character study, and the movie's length ultimately becomes an advantage.
Customer Reviews
This is An Overrated Film...
I saw this on DVD about a month or two ago, and while it's a pretty good story, Ridley Scott doesn't know what we care about or what we want to see. The acting is great. I will not bash anyone in this film, not even the rap-artists that make small appearances. Of course, this is Crowe and Washington's film and as such they are great. Though their confrontation is not till the end of the film during a "Godfather"-like montage, their individual stories shine through their performances. Armand Assante's appearance, while moderately shor, is very good, as well as Josh Brolin's unevolved character. The writing is weak as well as the directing. I saw the director's cut and not the theatrical cut, so I don't know if this has as much nudity as the 18-minute-longer-version. There's not a lot of interesting stuff that goes on with Washington, yes there's developing moments of him realizing that he's becoming a show-off (after insulting a relative over his flashy clothes) and throwing his suave clothes into the fire after a near-death experience. The drug moments would've been more interesting if we saw more of the stuff that went on, but all we get is "blah-blah" on how this is pure heroin and nothing else. What would've made the drug-scenes even stronger would have been more information about Washington's smuggling of the drugs into America through the "soldier-boxes." It just misses the mark in keeping one's attention. The directing is kind of bad. Scott has these two people, with two different stories, but doesn't know how to keep the story going at a thrilling pace (similar to Kingdom of Heaven). We get A LOT of talking and hardly any conflicts. All I can say is that this film was a half-hour longer than it should've been, but it's still a good piece of work. Overall, if you can handle a lot of "N-words" and other vulgarities, as well as drug-content and nudity, then American Gangster could be a good film to watch. There's hardly any blood, even though some scenes are graphic. If you believe your watching a film that lives up to the hype, you will sadly be disappointed, but if you go in it with an open-mind, then you'll come out with a 4 or 5-star rating. Worth a rent, but I wouldn't buy it. **Other Films Worth a Rental/Buy -- *Batman Begins -- 5/5 *No Country For Old Men -- 5/5 *I Am Legend -- 5/5 *Atonement -- 3/5
Hard to go wrong with this combo
Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe on the same screen is a pretty good start. Ridley Scott could have made a weaker movie and still gotten good reviews but he didn't. Without ever feeling preachy or too predictable, this movie shows the temptations of crime, drugs, and the havoc they can wreak on families. Having grown up close in the area of NYC, this was a special treat. I could almost smell the food carts near the subway entrance and the gritty despair of the upper east side's housing projects took on a much more human, real face. Washington is just terrific in his role here. The strugles in his family are painful, but they don't go into the level of dreadful inevitability that would have been too easy for the director - but too painful for my taste. Crowe is almost understated, it's hard to believe this is the same guy I've seen in other movies. He's more talented than I had wanted to give credit for.
Loved it!
Great movie! It's a bit long but very well written and good acting.
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