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Damn it feels good to be a GANGSTER, especially an AMERICAN one, according to this spy!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. This one's lookin' mighty good. Can't wait to see Sid 6.7 facing down Parker Barnes again! I don't know about you guys, but I've made up my mind to view this film as prequel to VIRTUOSITY.
Beware of spoilers in the below glowing review. Our generation's SCARFACE, hrmm? We'll see...
Hey Harry,
Saw an early screening of American Gangster, thought I'd send in my thoughts....
Many films have come along the past few years hoping to be the next Platoon, the next Goodfellas, the next Godfather film. The next anything. Nothing has touched these classic films, until now. American Gangster is our generation's Scarface, no doubt about it. Told with an impressively steady pace, the film delvs deep into the histories, personalities, familes, business practices, morals, mores', ethics, relationships, habits, hobbies, and everything else pertaining to Drug Kingpin Frank Lucas and honest cop Richie Roberts.
Scott takes his sweet time introducing us to Lucas, his ambitions, his family, his plan. His detailed, step-by-step plan to become the biggest supplier of heroin in the north east, if not America. Frank is a man of conviction. An honest, loving family man with a desire to make everyone around him happy and well respected But he is ruthless in the streets, unafraid to shoot down a rival gangster in broad daylight, just to flex his perverbial muscle. He's both the consumate gentleman and the quintessential super villain.
Richie Roberts is a cop with a heart of gold. An honest cop. THE honest cop; turning in a stash of a million dollars in unmarked bills, to the chagrin and dismay of his fellow officers, who black list him for breaking the unwritten code, breaking the Blue Wall of Silence.
But this does not make him a perfect man. He's a womanizer, his ex-wife was always his better half, and he has a temper.
But he's honest. And damn commited and good at his job.
The film takes over an hour to set up the story, spending enough time for another movie just setting up the back story of these two men before the real movie kicks in. It's the reason for the film's nearly 3 hour running time and the reason it is the best, most patient film of the year. Because at first you feel like the story is being told in chunks, almost like a clip show. The entire movie, one long montage of history, until things settle down into the cat and mouse story which connects our two heroes. That, in the last hour and a half of the film, is what makes this THE crime saga film of our generation. Scott masterfully moves between history lessons and a suspenseful thriller, with the best actors of this generation- not just Washington and Crowe- anchoring down his cast. Scott goes for quality over name recognition with a lot of parts and the move pays off. You may not be able to name many of the actors in this film and you may not even recognize their faces prior to viewing this story, but they are as much a part of the tapestry for 'American Gangster' as Crowe and Washington.
*I'm not referring to Chiwitel Ejiofer or Armand Assante or even John Hawkes. Guys like John Ortiz, who plays Richie's first partner, and is nearly unrecognizable compared to his other most high profile role as the main henchman in 'Miami Vice'. There's also Ruby Dee, who is obviously very famous, but maybe not so much with the newer crowd. She plays it straight and happy for most of the film, almost unimportant, until a pivotal emotional scene in the last 20 minutes where she puts many other actors to shame with her subtle, straight forward approach to what other actors may have taken as an opportunity to chew scenery.
Anyways...
American Gangster is a tale of two cities, in a way. The rich and dishonest, the poor and imperfect but good hearted. Is Lucas evil? Is Roberts good? At what point are you allowed to break the rules? The film brings up many questions and many answers and paints a most complete portrait of two men at odds, in the relatively little amount of time alotted to the film.
The best part of the picture is the authenticity with which the times are displayed. You see afros, big American cars and disco suits, but they're part of a bigger portrait of two men, and of a story that, with some cultural tweaking, could be told at any time.
There is also the requisite epilouge of facts placed on the screen over the last minute of film, explaining what happened to Richie, Lucas and everybody else, after the events depicted in the movie.
but that wasn't nearly as powerful as the final shot of the film. Frank Lucas, after being in jail 15 years, walking out to a world he doesn't know, to a New York he doesn't control. Very humbling and human moment for this great American Gangster.
if you use this, call me Bear the Wookie.
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+ Expand All
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Wish I hadn't read that last paragraph. My bad.
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I saw American Gangster as well.
I couldn't disagree more with Bear the Wookie. American Gangster was going for epic and became a long bore instead. Our generation's Scarface? Just typing that makes me want to puke. There is no way in hell this movie comes even near Scarface. A somewhat recent crime epic, Heat, is probably the best example of how to do things right.
I think Ridley Scott should have done Virtuosity 2:SID's Revenge, it would have been a million times more entertaining than this movie. -
This looks to have great scope. I'll have to reign in my disdain for Russel Crow and hope Washington does good character work.
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I wonder what made me do so tonight... Can't be this hangnail I'm picking at, that's for sure.
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seriously, i dont get the love for that movie. its one of the most overrated films of all time. and i especially dont get the way urban america has idolized it. that being said, American Gangster is a great flick. FAR superior to Scarface.
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At just over 2 and a half hours, the running time is not too long, and more importantly, the pacing is well done. A poorly paced film can make a 70 minute film seem too long. In American Gangster, all the introductions and backstory is handled right at the begining so that all the scenes later only serve to move the main story foward. Extreneous tack-ons, like Frank Lucas's affair and marrieage to Miss Puerto Rico stall the central story, but are factualy relevant so they have to be included... and these scenes are handled quickly. I was impressed with the film's handling of the period. As a native New Yorker I always look for goofs when film makers try to show period NY. There were a couple of very minor goofs... modern street lights in the background and no TV antanaes on the apartments in pre-cable TV days when the city skyline was filled with rooftp aerials. These were barely noticable goofs. The only goof that was up front and out of place was the cop with a WuTang tattoo in what's suposed to be 1969. Director should have had him where a sleeved shirt for that shot. A great movie? No. But a good movie well filmed and written with solid performances... absolutely. A breath of fresh air from Hollywood. It's a shame that the film only really stands out because it doesn't suck like most of what's being crapped out of the studios these days.
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it can drag its feet sometimes but never bores, all in all great film.
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Think maybe not in tone, but in story telling techniques. American Gangster is Scarface for the 2000's in that it is a lot like that film in terms of subject matter, how it is told, etc. Maybe more of a cross between Scarface and...something else. Who knows?
The guy seems to know film, so I highly doubt he literally meant it was the exact greatness of Scarface, but that its the film of this type to come closest to that, at least in quite a few years. -
click
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It blew me away. Only thing bugging me about it was Russell Crowe's accent coming in and out. But make no mistake, this is Ridley in his top form here. the 160 minute running time doesn't feel long at all. But WTF is up with The RZA being on the special anti-drug cop team and having us see a CLEAR shot of his Wu-Tang tattoo? Also, T.I. can't act for shit.
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it's still Kingdom of Heaven with Blade Runner a close second. i still can't believe the original cut of KoH was cut like that. the extended DVD is incredible. so with this film, maybe we'll also get an extended cut of this film.
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crowes character should have been no more than a footnote. the story should have focused on frank and his troubles in harlem. instead we get the HEAT treatment to what should have been a classic movie in the vein of goodfellas. seems the powers that be think white america wouldnt go see a black goodfellas type flick tho, so they whitened it up with crowes character getting equal billing. big mistake and it keeps this film from being anywhere near classic.
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I don't mean that as a putdown but I don't see this as one for the ages. Just a well made movie that shows a lot more restraint in the acting and the script then I would have thought the subject called for. Don't expect a Goodfellas style with intense language and overly violent scenes. Just enough to make the point and that was ok with me.
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Especially by Ridley Scott.
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If you have an attention span of a 10 year or enjoy michael bay movies, american gangster isn't for you. If you like classic gangster movies that aren't splatter first, this is for you. Expect a couple of academy nods to this movie. doubt it wins an oscar, but anything is possible.
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I'm sorry, but it most definitely isn't Kingdom of Heaven! Better than Blade Runner or Alien? Do me a favour. Looking forward to this one though. Looks good to me.
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The movies been out on torrent two weeks now in DVD quality. Great spy work!
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...in other words a great and very entertaining film, but not quite a classic.
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good comparison. american gangster reminds me of this generation's French Connection. More than it does a good fellas, god father, scarface, or new jack city..
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Scarface, New Jack City? I love those two movies. And if you add Scott, Crowe and Denzel into the equation it's enough to start getting dizzy! Yay for great movies!
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. . . some people here need to rewatch New Jack City and rethink any praise laid upon it. Unless it's the so-bad-its-funny kind of praise . . .
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Get Rich or die tryin foo!
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I'm having trouble believing anyone would praise New Jack City as anything but an unintentional comedy. The fashions alone are funnier than anything Jim Carrey has ever done. And the acting? Wow. It's like Wesley Snipes thought he'd go a little over the top to get noticed, but then Ice T started going over the top too, so Wesley went WAY over the top. And then Chris Rock snuck in with his portrayal of Pookie going through withdrawl.
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American Gangster is not a bad movie - it just doesn't offer anything that could be considered different or special. Ridley Scott should not have directed this film. Lumet, Scorsese, Woody Allen would've been better. A NY gangster story needs a New Yorker to tell it...period. The movie spilts it time too much - I wanted to see a gangster movie, instead I saw another procedural. The whole smuggling heroin in caskets of Vietnam soldiers aspect (which I think is especially interesting and clever) is basically glanced over. 15 minutes of story total.
If this generation wants to claim American Gangster as their Scarface...then it would be yet another comment on their shitty taste in movies and poor understanding of cinema in general.
See y'all at Saw 5 you cinema savvy bitches! -
This isn't "our generation's" anything. Denzel gets away with coming up with a phrase like "my man" and spouting it every 20 minutes, as if that's how we peer into his psyche.
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And why would a cop on the new anti-narcotics unit have a Wu-Tang "RZA" tattoo on his shoulder??
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or quality by a longshot. by that criteria, Rob Schneider's "You can do it" makes The Waterboy a great American film. scarface is overrated, plain and simple, and only the wannabe gangsters of today idolize it despite its suckage.
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I only wonder if his "screening" was in BitTorrent, IRC or Usenet? After all, that's where the leaked DVD of American Gangster is most common.
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You knew it was coming.
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You knew that was coming too.
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It's also a good sign to hear Quint say this is looking like its going to be a good one. As soon as I heard Scott was doing this, I knew he would handle this material well - almost like a GLADIATOR of the streets.BTW, welcome back Yack. Where have you been and what have you done with Superninja?!Just a thought, but for whatever reason I could have seen Wesley Snipes in this role six to ten years ago.
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now where have i heard that before?
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Sorry Metaluna but I agree with Darwins on this one.I feel that the Directors Cut of Kingdom Of Heaven is Scotts best film so far.Yes even better than than Alien and Blade Runner in my humble opinion.
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Thelma & Louise comes close, though... Bladerunner may be my *favourite* but not his best, not by a long shot. KoH was actually not as bad as I expected it to be (not sure if I saw the cut or extended version - was on TV) but, seriously, come on! Alien was GROUNDBREAKING - his other films may have been good (or not) but none were anywhere near as... well, SIGNIFICANT (like I said, Thelma & Louise comes close) at least, IMHO
Oh yeah - American was not great...
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