American Gangster

 American Gangster 2007

• Director: Ridley Scott
• Seen by this director: The Martian, Prometheus, Robin Hood, A Good Year, Kingdom of Heaven, Gladiator, GI Jane, Thelma and Louise, Blade Runner, Alien
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin, Lymyra Nadal, Carla Gugino, Ruby Dee, John Hawkes
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Denzel Washinton – Fences, The Book of Eli, The Great Debaters, Déjà vu, Antwone Fisher, Devil in a Blue Dress, Philadelphia, The Pelican Brief, Much Ado about Nothing, Mississippi Masala, Cry Freedom
• Russell Crowe – The Water Diviner, Winter’s Tale, Man of Steel, Les Misérables, Robin Hood, A Good Year, A Beautiful Mind, Proof of Life, Gladiator, Romper Stomper
• Chiwetel Ejiofor – Doctor Strange, The Martian, 12 Years a Slave, Dancing on the Edge, 2012, Children of Men, Kinky Boots, Love Actually, Dirty Pretty Things, Amistad
• Josh Brolin – Dune, Hail Caesar, True Grit, Milk, No Country for Old Men, The Dead Girl
•  Carla Gugino - The Space between Us
• Ruby Dee - Jungle Fever, Do the Right Thing
• John Hawkes - The Peanut Butter Falcon, Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri, Contagion, Lost, Winter’s Bone, The Miracle at St Ana, Identity, A Slipping-Down Life
• Why? Russell Crowe
• Seen: 23 January 2022      

       Too many men and the word ‘gangster’ in the title bodes ill but the cast is good and it’s Ridley Scott so it’s worth a try.

       Lucas (Washington) is a Harlem crime boss. Roberts (Crowe) is the cop determined to bring him down.

       I really like Russell Crowe. Denzel Washington has done some good films (and some mediocre ones) and Ridley Scott has several masterpieces, but alas, not this one. This one is boring me out of my head.

       I like the way Crowe plays his role but I like neither Washington’s character nor his way of playing him. Idris Elba SPOILER doesn’t last long and the story – well, we’ve seen it a hundred times and I’ve liked very, very few. But the ending is kind of good.

 2 ½ * of 5.