Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 208
Fresh: 165 | Rotten: 43
American Gangster is a gritty and entertaining throwback to classic gangster films, with its lead performers firing on all cylinders.
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 43
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 10
American Gangster is a gritty and entertaining throwback to classic gangster films, with its lead performers firing on all cylinders.
liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 922,480
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
Nov 2, 2007 Wide
Feb 19, 2008
$130.1M
Universal Pictures
All Critics (208) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (172) | Rotten (44) | DVD (22)
Ridley Scott's gangster flick aims high and mostly measures up.
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.
An intelligent, well-made and seductive movie.
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.
Though not on par with other gangster classics by Scorsese, Copolla or DePalma, this look at the life of a Harlem drug kingpin is a fascinating watch and a great return from Ridley Scott. Denzel Washington puts in a great performance as well.
October 31, 2011Super Reviewer
Although it doesn't hold up to memory as well as it probably should be given its fairly familiar plot, 'Gangster' is still worth a view thanks to the presence alone of Denzel Washington as an emerging drug kingpin. The Russell Crowe character is heavily cliched and could have been better developed, but the hunting down
August 22, 2007Super Reviewer
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