American Gangster Review

I saw the previous film which featured both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, "Virtuosity", and I really enjoyed it (apparently I was one of the few).  I was very curious about a movie in which the roles were reversed, with Denzel playing the bad guy and Crowe playing the good guy.

One of the first things one notices in "American Gangster" is that, based on a true story, the lines between the good guys and the bad guys are realistically blurred.

I thought the casting of supporting roles was especially good in "American Gangster".  Ruby Dee is a very complex "Mama".  Armand Assante and Joe Morton are excellent in their roles as associates of Denzel's character.  Cuba Gooding Jr., cast against type, is also excellent.  Clarence Williams III only puts in a few minutes as Bumpy Johnson, but those few minutes are pure gold.

This is a long movie.  I loved that, but I was glad I knew ahead of time.  So many movies now are close to 90 minutes.  This one's official length is 2 hours and 37 minutes.

This movie is also not for everyone.  It is rated R and rightly so.