American Gangster

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After a great opening scene, a movie can go two ways: it can either live up to its opening shot and even go on to do bigger and better things, or it can be a false dawn and disappear under the weight of its own expectations. American Gangster's opening gambit - Washington setting a guy on fire before putting two bullets in his head – is, thankfully, only a taste for things to come. Based on a true story, American Gangster follows Frank Lucas (Washington), who in 1969, revolutionised drug trafficking by flying in heroin from Vietnam and selling it on the streets of Harlem, cutting out the middle man and vexing the established Mafioso hierarchy (played by Armand Assante) in the process. Employed to track down this mysterious drug overlord is Richie Roberts (Crowe), an honest cop who's unsure of himself and his ability to get the job done. We're in Heat and The Departed territory here: an in-depth, sprawling and engaging gangstercop film that documents the seedy and gritty underbelly of the peace, love and harmony era - this is the America Curtis Mayfield was warning everyone about. The 2.5 hours running time skips by, thanks to Steve Zaillan's (who deliberately keeping the scenes short) beautifully-paced script that doesn't slow down to make sure everyone is keeping up - that's up to the viewer. This isn't the first time Washington has played the bad guy, but his Lucas is a lot more reserved than his blustery 'King Kong ain't got shit on me' Alonzo in Training Day; ditto for Crowe, as his cop is more of a pro-active John Nash than the man's man of Gladiator and L.A Confidential. Scott, on a bit of a roll at the moment, directs with a quiet confidence and employs a funky soundtrack to boot.

Details: US / 157mins (16).