American Gangster (2007)
Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 209
Fresh: 167 | Rotten: 42
American Gangster is a gritty and entertaining throwback to classic gangster films, with its lead performers firing on all cylinders.
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Critic Reviews: 47
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 11
American Gangster is a gritty and entertaining throwback to classic gangster films, with its lead performers firing on all cylinders.
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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 922,480
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Movie Info
Director Ridley Scott spins this yarn concerning a Harlem drug kingpin (Denzel Washington) who smuggles heroin into the country by hiding it in the bodies of U.S. soldiers killed during battle in Vietnam. There was a time when no one noticed reserved driver Frank Lucas (Washington), but when the criminal kingpin he was charged with transporting through the city streets suddenly dies, Lucas seizes the opportunity to build his own criminal empire. In the following months, Lucas solidifies his
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Cast
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Denzel Washington
Frank Lucas -
Russell Crowe
Richie Roberts -
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Huey Lucas -
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Nicky Barnes -
Josh Brolin
Det. Trupo -
Ted Levine
Lou Toback -
Armand Assante
Dominic Cattano -
Clarence Williams III
Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johns... -
John Ortiz
Javier J. Rivera -
John Hawkes
Freddie Spearman -
RZA
Moses Jones -
Lymari Nadal
Eva -
Yul Vázquez
Alfonse Abruzzo -
Ruby Dee
Mama Lucas -
Idris Elba
Tango -
Carla Gugino
Laurie Roberts -
Joe Morton
Charlie Williams -
Common
Turner Lucas -
Jon Polito
Rossi -
Kevin Corrigan
Campizi -
Roger Guenveur Smith
Nate -
Malcolm Goodwin
Jimmy Zee -
Ric Young
Chinese General -
Roger Bart
U.S. Attorney -
Tip 'T.I.' Harris
Stevie Lucas -
KaDee Strickland
Richie's Attorney -
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Norman Reedus
Detective in Morgue -
Albert Jones
Terrence Lucas -
J. Kyle Manzay
Dexter Lucas -
Warner Miller
Melvin Lucas -
Hamilton Clancy
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American Gangster Trailer & Photos
All Critics (209) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (174) | Rotten (43) | DVD (22)
Ridley Scott's gangster flick aims high and mostly measures up.
Like much of his oeuvre, Scott's scaled-up movie is bigger than life - and lesser for it. But while never digging deeply or darkly enough to match its own grand vision of itself, slick technique drives the story forward with pace and style.
How much truth we get in the movie version is hard to say...nobody much cares if it's gospel, as long as it's riveting. Here, alas, it is not.
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.
Washington's steely grip on his impersonation of Frank Lucas holds the film together.
Ridley Scott's listless Big Statement is a wheezy, hot air-inflated dud.
Though it's certainly admirable to aim high, it's like Frank Lucas himself says: "Either you're somebody, or you ain't nobody." Unfortunately for American Gangster, it ends up somewhere between the two.
It's 157 minutes long, but immerses its audience with its twists and intricacies as it plays out and considers the logistics and consequences of crime and police corruption, with a plethora of show-stealing performances from the cast.
American Gangster an epic, true crime drama, that although not entirely original in its premise is excellent in its execution.
Flattened by Scott's cardboard evocation of New York in the '70s, Zaillian's shallow criticism of corrupting power, and weirdly bloodless performances
File this one under "American Oscar Wanna-Be."
When American Gangster was announced, with actors Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott, it seemed like a can't miss project. It missed.
Violent, drug-fueled drama isn't for kids.
Washington may have not wanted to glorify the Harlem drug dealer, but with his superb acting skills he has created one of the coolest gangsters since Tony Montana.
Telling a true story doesn't excuse a filmmaker from making his movie stand out from the many others that have traversed similar ground.
It feels familiar, even Washington's performance of real-life Frank Lucas feels like something we've seen before.
It isn't that American Gangster is an empirically bad film or is even unenjoyable. But don't be surprised if, when you walk out of the theater, you forget the film ever existed.
With the exceptional extras piled on, the unrated-extended DVD let's you judge drug lord Lucas for yourself.
Inflated talk of American Gangster as a modern masterpiece--or even an Oscar-worthy picture--ignores the fact that there's not a single memorable setpiece in the film.
Steven Zallian (Gangs of New York) tackles the screenplay, which is based on an article by Mark Jacobson, and creates a captivating story with an otherwise basic premise.
Audience Reviews for American Gangster
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Frank Lucas: There's your 20 percent.
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- Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson: This is the problem. This is what's wrong with America. It's gotten so big, you just can't find your way. The grocery store on the corner is now a supermarket. The candy store is a McDonald's. And this place, a super-fucking discount store. Where's the pride of ownership, huh? Where's the personal service? You see what I mean? Shit. I mean, what right do they have, of cutting out the suppliers, pushing out all the middlemen, buying direct from the manufacturer? Sony this, Toshiba that. All them Chinks putting Americans out of work. That's the way it is now. You can't find the heart of anything to stick the knife.
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- Chinese General: Quitting when you are ahead is not the same as quitting.
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- Frank Lucas: Even a fool gets to be young once.
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- Richie Roberts: It was the right thing to do.
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- Frank Lucas: You're either somebody or you're nobody.
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Latest News on American Gangster
July 7, 2008:
American Gangster Sequel Coming?Is Universal filming American Gangster 2 in Puerto Rico?
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March 6, 2008:
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Foreign Titles
- Gánster americano (ES)










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