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American Gangster
Universal Pictures


7.4

based on 38 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 156 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality

Starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Brolin, Yul Vazquez, Armand Assante, and Ted Levine

Nobody used to notice Frank Lucas, the quiet driver for one of the inner city's leading black crime bosses. But when his boss suddenly dies, Frank exploits the opening in the power structure to build his own empire and create his own version of the American Dream. Through ingenuity and a strict business ethic, he comes to rule the inner-city drug trade and floods the streets with a purer product at a better price. Lucas outplays all of the leading crime syndicates and becomes not only one of the city's mainline corrupters, but part of its circle of legit civic superstars. Richie Roberts is an outcast cop close enough to the streets to feel a shift of control in the drug underworld. Roberts believes someone is climbing the rungs above the known Mafia families and starts to suspect that a black power player has come from nowhere to dominate the scene. Both Lucas and Roberts share a rigorous ethical code that sets them apart from their own colleagues, which makes them lone figures on opposite sides of the law. The destinies of these two men will become intertwined as they approach a confrontation in which only one of them can come out on top. (Universal)

GENRE(S):	Crime \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Mark Jacobson (article) Steven Zaillian
DIRECTED BY:	Ridley Scott
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: February 19, 2008 Theatrical: November 2, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	157 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Denzel Washington dazzles in his best screen performance to date as Frank Lucas.

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This is an engrossing story, told smoothly and well, and Russell Crowe's contribution is enormous.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Finely made and richly satisfying film.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

It has the aspirations of an epic of crime and punishment, a superb feel for time and milieu, and an almost subliminal feel for myth.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Crowe has rarely been better, and the same goes for director Scott, who parallels and then dovetails Lucas and Roberts' stories with sublime, gritty precision, working up to a magnificent "Godfather III"-style crosscutting sequence that electrifies an already explosive tale.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Call it the black "Scarface" or "the Harlem Godfather" or just one hell of an exciting movie.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

What American Gangster does have -- what makes it such a commanding, exhilarating movie -- is a consummate love and understanding of story.

USA Today Claudia Puig

The movie, based on a true story, takes surprising twists and turns right up to its chilling ending and is probably the best gangster crime drama of the year.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

This impressive film feels more like a display, if an often dazzling one, than a genuine experience.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

A riveting piece of movie storytelling, mounted with a genuinely epic flair, shot and edited in a no-nonsense, classic style.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

Only Washington stands out; he's charming, intense, and charismatic as ever.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

In the end, though, the success of American Gangster doesn't flow from the originality of its ideas, or its bid for epic status, as much as from its craftsmanship and confident professionalism. It's a great big gangster film, and a good one.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

It's workmanlike and engrossing, but what sticks in the mind are Frank and Richie, not what anybody does.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Absorbing, exciting at times and undeniably entertaining, and is poised to be a major commercial hit. But great it's not.

The New Yorker David Denby

The pace of the movie is rapid, almost hectic, the touch glancing. Until the confrontation between Frank and Richie at the end, nothing stays on the screen for long, although Scott, working in the street, or in clubs and at parties, packs as much as he can into the corners of shots, and shapes even the most casual scenes decisively.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

As archetypal as its title, Ridley Scott's would-be epic aspires to enshrine Harlem dope king Frank Lucas in Hollywood heaven, heir to Scarface and the Godfather. Or, as suggested by the Mark Jacobson article on Lucas that inspired the movie, a real-life Superfly.

Time Richard Schickel

I don't think it attains the Godfather level -- it lacks dark passion and grand-scale irony -- but it is an intelligent, well-made and seductive movie.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Like in "Training Day" and "Malcolm X," where he portrayed less than perfect individuals, Washington rules the screen. His portrayal is one of many things that elevates this film to the level of being consistently entertaining and occasionally compelling.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Meticulous and detailed, a drug-world epic that holds you from moment to moment, immersing you in the intricate and sleazy logistics of crime. Yet the movie isn't quite enthralling; it's more like the ghost version of a '70s classic.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Its vivid sense of place and time make it compulsively watchable, even at a running time of two and a half hours.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Often best around the edges. Without making a big deal about it, Scott reveals how the Mafia, while putting up a businesslike front, deplored the incursion of black gangsters into the drug trade.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Ridley Scott gives it the grand treatment, 157 minutes worth, but in the end, it doesn't stack up as the portrait of an era (the 1970s, in this case) or an important tale of a criminal mastermind.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

As an epic, American Gangster doesn't cut it. The reputations of Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather," Brian De Palma's "Scarface," Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" or Michael Mann's "Heat" are safe. At best, American Gangster is no better than a workmanlike imitation of its betters.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

It’s a big, juicy 1970s period piece, one foot in real life, the other in the movies, the preferred stance of many Hollywood crime sagas.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

It lacks momentum, and thus the propulsion required to rocket it into the movie mythosphere.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Greatness hovers just outside American Gangster, knocking, angling to be let in.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

With one of these two alpha males anchoring nearly every scene, Scott really can't go wrong, but the lead characters are pretty thin, a fact highlighted by generic subplots.

Slate Dana Stevens

The movie is never quite pop enough to get audiences hooting and hollering and quoting favorite lines, nor smart enough to inspire passionate post-movie debate. Scene by scene, the film is unassailably well-crafted. But there's something oddly dull, even respectable, about Scott's adherence to the rules of gangster-film grammar.

Newsweek David Ansen

There's a great story here, but it feels like American Gangster hasn't been mined for all its riches.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

For all the sprawl, American Gangster feels secondhand. It’s like "Scarface" drained of blood, at arm’s length from the culture that spawned it.

Film Threat Stina Chyn

The acting is unquestionably strong, the songs are integrated appropriately (functioning as both audio bridges and dramatic enhancements), and yet something is missing in how the individual pieces of the film--the story, the themes, and the violence--fit together.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

The new perspective Scott and Zaillian want to bring to this material never gels convincingly, and despite some effective set pieces, a cast of memorable faces and attitudes, and evocative cinematography by Harris Savides, this would-be epic feels tired and rote.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The problem is that the movie spends as much time on the boring detective chasing Lucas as on the drug lord himself.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The result is kitschy entertainment that wants to celebrate Lucas's chutzpah and acumen while loosely condemning what they wrought: "Scarface" with a ghost of a conscience.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Steven Zaillian never seems completely at home with these characters, not because he's white but because he's a cerebral screenwriter frustrated with a story that gives him little that's meaningful to say. Like Washington and Crowe, he's a chef functioning here as a short-order cook: The meal's perfectly edible but falls short of delicious.

Empire Ian Freer

An entertaining romp through familiar cop-and-crim cat-and-mousery, bolstered by strong star turns from Washington and Crowe. Still, it has neither the intelligence nor the grip to jump from the merely good to the truly great.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Misplaced hero-worship and glibness get in the way of its amazing true story.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Offers only the stingiest platform for its actors, and as a piece of storytelling -- built on the foundation of a great story -- it's an epic that's been sliced and diced into so many little morsels that almost nothing in it has any weight.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 156 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Josh P. gave it an8:
I thought this movie was slow in some parts and I zoned out during a few parts but other than that I thought the movie was awesome. I like movies that are based on true stories cause its always better when you know something like that really did happen. I recommend this movie to anyone of appropriate age. Also you cant go wrong with a Denzel movie, hes usually pretty bad ass.

Turner B. gave it a9:
This is perhaps one of Denzel’s most powerful and demanding roles in his career. Having being picked by Frank Lucas himself to play the part the perseverance and true character is revealed. It may seem weird to say but after viewing an interview of Frank Lucas it seems as if Washington dulled down the aggressive character of Lucas but this is very beneficial in making the script more believable. It really brings into light the government’s role in a lot of our drug issues today in America. With more and more movies coming out focusing on these issues substantial questions begin to be asked into the way we handle drug problems today in America. Very well rounded movie.

Jack B. gave it a7:
Im not sure whats classed as an "epic" anymore, is it just that a film has to be over 2 and a half hours? Anyway, a good film, but certainly not an "epic" as ive heard it described many times. Its a good story, theres good acting and it has been done justice. But an epic has passion, this film does not have passion to go with the story and the cast. For me i did not have any feeling for any of the characters as they were not really explored, Crowes wife and son up and left, he didn't seem to care. Washington was supposed to be a family man yet was willing to risk the safety of his whole family for drugs, it was all a bit puzzling and i had very mixed feelings come the end, a lot seemed to be muddled. The end was also a little strange. But I enjoyed it overall despite some faults, its a good story and a good watch for anyone into the genre.

Ossobuco gave it a4:
Denzel is a snore (though that might just be his signature method), Crowe is so-so, the movie is a chaotic mess and soooooo pointlessly long and I love the scene towards the end where this psycho who has destroyed more live than your average serial killer is portrayed as a deep down inside nice guy.

Thatem W. gave it a9:
Really great movie. From what I can, a accurate protrail of New York in the 70's. Great mix of action and detective. Crowe and Washington do great. Not too gory either.

Jack B. gave it a5:
This film is completely watchable, and not boring. But given that you had a formerly great director (Ridley Scott) working with a truly great actor (Denzel Washington) on a story with real potential for depth, it was amazingly flat. No real development of Denzel's character, despite some interesting possibilities (he'd just gotten back from Vietnam in 1968! And he came back to Harlem in the middle of one of its most vibrant and, yes, messed up periods!) You never even get a feeling you're IN Harlem here. Really a surprising failure of a movie.

[Anonymous] gave it a4:
Movie itself was good.. the story sucks. He should have been shot for getting his entire family killed or arrested, and being a snitch, Good acting, poor story.

American Gangster Universal Pictures

American Gangster
Universal Pictures