Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in one movie — who wouldn’t want to see it? Well if, like me, you suffered through their 1995 cyber-stinker “Virtuosity,” you might be skeptical. But never fear, the now matured powerhouse headliners join forces for the intense, well-acted and mostly well-told crime drama “American Gangster.”
They are led into the underworld of ’70s-era Harlem drug dealing and police corruption by an alpha director able to handle their huge screen presences, Ridley Scott (“Gladiator”). His fact-based account of heroin kingpin Frank Lucas’ rise and fall has Washington as the violent anti-hero with admirable family values and Crowe taking the part of incorruptible law enforcer/womanizer Detective Richie Roberts. Both actors inject their customary levels of authority and excitement into their refreshingly complicated characters, though this project doesn’t represent the most affecting work of either one.
Rather, it’s the true story elements of Lucas’ remarkable international scheme to usurp the New York drug trade, production design flourishes and a number of fine supporting performances that give this overlong “Gangster” picture its most oomph.
Updating a now well-worn genre that has already been perfected by Martin Scorsese, the occasionally slow proceedings are punctuated by thrilling moments of confrontation between cops and criminals and among themselves — with the lines between good and evil blurred inside both groups.
The Steven Zaillian screenplay should have been tighter, but it does offer plenty of room for some fine character actors to stretch their talent under Scott’s direction. On the “wrong side” of the law, there’s Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr. as Nicky Barnes, and Armand Assante in cahoots with Lucas.
Meanwhile, John Ortiz and especially Josh Brolin are deeply compelling as detectives who do more to hinder Roberts’ investigation than help it. Hip-hop artists RZA and Common also appear. They along with a kickin’ soundtrack help lend the picture authentic street cred.
It all helps recount the tale of how the cleverly unpretentious Lucas managed to stay under the radar while figuring out how to import drugs from South Asia more directly and thus more cheaply: He paid off U.S. military personnel during the Vietnam War to smuggle the dope home. At the same time the illicit entrepreneur was building a family-run empire, though, Crowe’s determined outsider cop was gradually building a case to destroy it.
The two Hollywood titans in opposition here don’t have any scenes together until nearer the picture’s end. But they do lend a stamp of quality together. If “American Gangster” doesn’t meet our outsized expectations, based on their reputations and the hard-core nature of the material, it’s still very much worth a gander.
‘American Gangster’
****
Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe
Director: Ridley Scott
Rated R for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality
Running time: 158 minutes
