American Gangster, director Ridley Scott’s remarkable film about real-life drug-lord Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington.

An extraordinary entrepreneur who takes over the Harlem heroin business when his boss dies, Frank Lucas emerges one of the biggest dealers during the 70s when he figures out a foolproof way to obtain his product directly from the suppliers in South East Asia.

This enables him to sell the purest material available at the cheapest possible price, hence forcing other suppliers off the streets. American Gangster is the story of Lucas’ amazing rise to power - a man worth more than 150 million dollars at the time of his arrest.

It’s also the story of another man’s stubborn determination to bring down the drug mafia in New York. That man, played by Russell Crowe, is police detective Richie Roberts, possibly the last honest narcotics cop in the city, who nails Lucas eventually and takes down his empire in a thrilling climax that’s superbly intercut between a bloody massacre and a church service.

Fans of the gangster-film genre will notice several references to the best gangster films - Godfather, Scarface, Serpico, even The Sopranos - and it’s true American Gangster doesn’t deviate too much from the structure of a typical gangster film, but it’s remarkable nonetheless because of the two sterling performances that turn this film from ordinary to extra-ordinary.

Denzel Washington shines as Lucas, adding little nuances to the character that make him both real and relatable. But my vote goes to Russell Crowe, the supporting player in this film, who not only physically transforms himself to play Roberts, but turns in a solid performance as the almost desperately determined detective.

It’s a shame neither Denzel Washington nor Russell Crowe landed Oscar nominations for their work in this film.

I’m going with four out of five and two thumbs up for American Gangster, it’s one of those immensely engaging films that’ll keep you glued to your seats from start to finish. Despite its daunting length - some two hours and forty minutes - this is a film you cannot miss.

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

By the time The French Connection hit the screens in the early seventies, blaxploitation movie was at its peak. At the same time, as this movie implies, a black drug dealer, Frank Lucas, was making a fortune. This movie is, in more than one ways, a tribute to the amazing American movie era of the seventies and a recognition of the situation of American black people in the same period when they were strong enough to fight for their rights but still had no place in the movies to make their point. Frank Lucas is a character who, by completely separating himself from the Italian Mafia and going directly to the source, manages to build a drug empire around Harlem. And who else to see the law is respected but the good old NYPD, only the drug squad is over its head in corruption and abuse. It's up to one guy (Russell Crowe) to set the record straight, make sure the streets are clean, and, what's more important, make sure the police is clean.

This is essentially the whole plot, there are many twists and subplots that keep everything going and give the characters depth. It's true that most of this is not original. The references to The French Connection are explicit in the plot, camera work (see the dynamics that brought Friedkin's movie its well-deserved fame), characters etc. But I think that the critics who said the movie was unoriginal are missing the point. Given that the whole thing starts from the premise of a true story it was only natural that nothing would be "original". But originality can also mean the way a story is told, and I can hardly believe that this amazing package of a story was delivered by Ridley Scott. Everything is very well balanced, the movie may seem baffling at times but nothing is left to chance and every shot in this long movie has a point to make. The dialogues are very well-written and seem quite natural. The "don't look at the camera in order to appear life-like" strategy that backfired in movies such as United 93 works perfectly here. Long continuous shots (sometimes filmed with a hand-held camera) are alternated with montages giving the movie a lot of spunk; the overall editing is very good. The music could have been better but I think the reality effect this movie is trying to produce is enhanced by a more discrete soundtrack. The acting is fine, Denzel is top notch and Crowe is much more refined in his acting than the 1997 LA Confidential cop.

I think that this movie tries, and succeeds, in being an homage to American cinema of the seventies and at the same time making a point about the black community (which was the subject of abuse in The French Connection). By choosing what is regarded as a black icon of Hollywood to play the part of the paradoxically progressive Frank Lucas, Hollywood is finally beginning to learn to be politically correct without rubbing your face into it. The movie clearly shows that drugs were the only solution for a discriminated against person living in a country that was fighting an absurd war. It also clearly shows the overwhelming corruption of the system and the consequences of abuse of power when being an American gangster was more honorable than being an American "cop". Great job for Ridley Scott, I wouldn't have put my money on it but it all worked out in the end...!

I loved watching Denzel play the bad guy in films. He has the face, character and the personality for the role. Denzel was awesome in this role.

For those of you that love watching based on truth film be sure to watch Denzel execute American Gangster! A must see film.

Finally a good, accurate, gangster drug-trafficking film that makes you think. It's far from Polyanna and lets no-one group off; not gangsters of any race or ethnicity, not cops on the take, addicts, etc. And importantly, the story, based upon the true life story of Frank Lucas, does not profile a stereotypical black gangster gone wrong but instead shows an elegant, intellectual man who rises to the top of his game but then learns something new in the end. The film is a sure-shot into the Oscars but more importantly, for me, it's a film that is socially responsible and imparts a thoughtful message for any viewer,especially in light of current times.

Technically, it's got it all going on. Script,Camera, lighting,and not only par excellence from Crowe and Washington but the entire acting cast. The film uses fabulous close-ups and unbelievably good action shots. I disagree with any reviews that claim the movie is not packed with enough action or violence. How tiresome that would be! Instead, while including some of the best action/violent shots ever filmed, Mr. Ridley gives us a relevant and real-life look into the narcotics business top-to-bottom and across the board. I would far prefer to see a movie that has a dozen or so magnificently staged violent shots that dare to go deeper and translate both internal as well as external motivations as to depict real life. The film is not only entertaining; its portrayal is authentic to the real life grizzly and sometimes grayed world of crime/justice as well as didactic and amazingly...uplifting. What a nice surprise.

American Gangster is based on the true story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a 1970s Harlem drug lord who imported heroin in caskets of American soldiers killed in Vietnam. In one scene, a police officer on horseback waits outside a funeral. Vehicles and crowds were kept at a safe distance from the horse and rider. A trainer helped the actor onto the horse right before filming began and waited just off-camera. The street was closed off to traffic.