The Review We Didn't Like

AMERICAN GANGSTER?
IT takes nerve to call a film "American Gangster": It's more than a movie title, it's the name of a venerable genre that dates to cinema's beginnings. But once you see this finely made and richly satisfying film, you understand it's the only title possible.

In part that's because "American Gangster" is conscious of its place in that tough guy continuum. Visual and thematic references to classics such as "The Godfather," "Once Upon a Time in America" and "The Asphalt Jungle" show that director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Steven Zaillian are quite aware of their film's place in history.

More than that, with Oscar-winning costars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe joining forces with Scott and Zaillian, two of the best at what they do, "American Gangster" is mindful of continuing another tradition, that of sweeping, old-school epic filmmaking that artfully heightens reality even if it's based on the gritty facts of the Harlem drug trade of the 1970s.

This is a review that i technically disagree with. The writer uses the title to draw in the reader as far as the review is concerned and it is that use of ruse that i disagree with. I've seen this film and it was a very well done piece of movie making but what it was not was a true gangster film. In the annals of american film making there are many movies that could have used the title of american gangster, this would not be one of those films. With most gangster movies there is a realm of excess and debauchery that goes well beyond the expectations of most movie goers, such as Scareface or even The Godfather. This film doesn't meet those expectations merely because the directory wasn't trying to create an iconic characters and situations that emphasis excess. No instead in this movie Ridley Scott is simply trying to tell the true story of Frank Lucas as honestly as possible not to make him another scareface. The reason for that is Frank Lucas was a real gangster not an over the top bad guy hell-bent on world domination like Tony Montana. Very significant story and very great directing and screenplay to defend it. The title is correct but not in the context that this reviewer seems to think.