American Gangster – 7/10

Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, T.I., Cuba Gooding Jr.

Plot: Frank Lucas (Washington) is a heroin dealer who smuggles drugs in from Vietnam in soldiers’ coffins. Richie Roberts (Crowe) is the honest cop who is set on taking Lucas down.

The Good: The incredible performances from two of the greatest actors alive, along with the slick direction of Ridley Scott. An ensemble cast, along with the gritty realness of Manhattan in the ’70s, is what drives this film.

The Bad: With an exhaustive run-time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, there is just too much background information. The movie plays like a re-working of the Robert Deniro/Al Pacino classic “Heat,” and it’s disappointing to see Crowe and Washington share little screen time together.

The Low-down: “American Gangster” is a good film, but it could have been better, considering the exceptional roster of talent. The historical accuracy of the story provides entertainment, but the audience is given too much information, and that leads to a lot of waiting for the final act.

With Washington’s and Crowe’s performances accompanied by a strong ensemble cast, this is an example of some of the better acting in 2007. It’s interesting to see Frank Lucas systematically become the first black man to dominate crime in Manhattan, and even push out the Italian mob.

Scott uses scenes of realistic, gritty violence, but he makes sure not to overdo it. Every scene of violence has an impact and serves a purpose in the story. Maybe aspirations were too high. With a stellar cast, a great director and a Public Enemy song featured in the trailer, expectations were for an epic crime saga. “American Gangster” is a good movie, but not an instant classic.