Despite its continuous unoriginality, “American Gangster” is the best film involving either Denzel Washington or director Ridley Scott this decade. Told from a “based on a true story” narrative frame, the story concerns the criminal deeds of Frank Lucas (Washington), a kingpin who imported pure heroin with military planes from Vietnam. Like the Italian gangsters in “The Godfather,” Lucas values family as much as the business of crime, bringing his immediate relatives into the game of heroin distribution. On Lucas’ trail is detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), who can’t hold his family together as well as the heroin kingpin.
Although this film examines a different infamous criminal, the material is familiar and – at times – stale. For instance, when Washington kills a man during the day in front of a crowd, one can’t help but remember Al Pacino doing the same in “Scarface.” Or when Crowe’s honest cop turns down bribe after bribe, it’s hard not to think of – guess who! – Pacino’s “Serpico.” You might also remember “The Godfather,” “The Untouchables” and “Goodfellas” during other moments, sometimes more than once.
The only other major problem with the script is the last act. After an exciting final shootout, the movie’s conclusion drags for minutes before wrapping up too conveniently, complete with cliché subtitles that explain what happened to the characters.
The true strength of the film comes with the cast. Washington has been stuck in an acting rut for the last few years, with his performances ranging from adequate (“Man on Fire”) to typical (“Inside Man”) to downright embarrassing (“The Manchurian Candidate”). “Gangster” revives the talented actor, giving him a multi-dimensional character that audiences can’t pin down in one hour. True, “Training Day” won an Oscar for Washington, but this time his acting seems more genuine and less like a gratuitous “Look what I can do!” statement.
Although his work doesn’t come anywhere near Washington’s great lead role, Crowe is a believable man of integrity. Unfortunately, his performance may seem more boring than it actually is due to his character’s less interesting back story. Robert’s divorce story is particularly undeveloped.
The supporting cast members are a diverse crew. Jon Polito does his usual Italian mobster schtick, Cuba Gooding Jr. drops in for a few funny lines, Armand Assante is almost painful to watch and Josh Brolin becomes a detestable-creep-and-a-half. Half the fun of watching “Gangster” is seeing who else will show up.
This film also marks the first time in a while that Scott hasn’t sucked behind the camera (“Hannibal” being his unforgivable mistake). But Ridley isn’t his old dark and foggy self for the majority of the movie. Instead, he draws from a smorgasbord of excellent filmmakers.
Sometimes, the mimicking doesn’t work at all. There are at least four meaningless slow-motion sequences that are definitely taken from the school of John Woo and Martin Scorsese. On the other hand, Scott recreates Quentin Tarantino’s restaurant-scene camerawork from “Reservoir Dogs” beautifully. Additionally, this film featured more great close-ups than any recent picture in years.
In short, this film doesn’t reinvent the gangster subgenre and never really takes risks. The plot remixes a standard cops and bad guys routine, and the movie’s watchability is somewhat stunted by the absurd running time. Ultimately, it’s the passion of Washington and Scott that makes “Gangster” fun, and the distinct yet familiar American theme of adapting in a capitalist’s world may allow you to forgive any shortcomings in innovation.