American Gangster DVD Review

American Gangster reviews

DVD

American Gangster

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-03-11 08:34:41

Provider

MRIB

DVD Review

Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe manage to exorcise the memory of clunker A Good Year with this thrilling true story of a heroin dealer's (Denzel Washington) rise to the top.

Set in 1970s Harlem, drug dealer Frank Lucas manages to make a meteoric rise to the top by smuggling vast quantities of heroin into the US through the coffins of soldiers returning from Vietnam.

Crowe plays Richie Roberts, the New Jersey cop hellbent on capturing his man. The set-up, the setting and the decade it takes places screams French Connection at you - and while it may not be as gripping as the Gene Hackman classic - it's an exciting way to spend a couple of hours in front of your home screen.

The majority of credit for that must go to Washington and Crowe. They may not always appear in five star classics, but they're always fun to watch. In full pelt they have a great time dining on any scenery that comes their way as they linguistically dance around each other. Washington in particular shines. He's a slick performer and we can chalk up another menacing villain to sit alongside Alonzo, his corrupt cop in Training Day. Steve Zaillian's script is taught, Scott's direction a nice mix of action and long almost static subject studies. With all this talent could have been a Godfather, but it's more of a Carlito's Way.

It does mean the supporting cast including Josh Brolin,- so good in No Country For Old Men - barely get a look in, but it's a fine example of how good the pair can be in the right film.

There's an extra 20 minutes or so of footage not seen in the Cinema version for the DVD release and a commentary from Scott an Zaillian. The two-disc edition offers up a further two hours of Extras in the form of various Making of's surrounding the production plus deleted scenes.

Copyright © MRIB 2008.