Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe reunite for American Gangster. We first saw them together when Russel Crowe was an unknown. He was the bad guy in the futuristic Virtuosity. I thought Virtuosity was pretty intense but i understand why it didn’t do so well at the box office. Denzel is at his best in American Gangster. He plays a cool black gangster who’s bite is harder then is bark. My only problem with the movie was the ending. It busted out with a Lord of the Rings type ending. The movie wouldn’t end. The audience should leave the theater wanting more instead of wondering when the movie will end.

It’s not one of the best gangster movies of all time, but this film makes you curious about Frank Lucas, the real life gangster the film is based on. It also brings a fresh prespective to the genre. We are so used to Italian mop bosses and it gets pretty boring. I want to see more ethnic gangster flicks. Movies that are realistic instead of cheesy and sterotypical. Why do Asian gangster flicks always have martial artists? Triads and Yakuza kill people with guns not with fists of fury or with samarai swords.

In this movie, Denzel plays a bad guy with who’s actually pretty good. He doesn’t match the intensity we see in Training Day but it’s still a great performance. I didn’t really like Crowe in this picture. I understand that you need a antagonist in these type of films, but i think it would have been better to make it a lessor role and give it to a no name actor instead of Crowe.

I’m critical of this movie cause i expected a little bit more, but i still consider this film to be a must watch. Thumbs up.