Movie review – “American Gangster” (2007) ***

A film made by too many talented people to not be good, but it’s not very good. You can feel it trying to be a good movie, but it never gets there. The arteries are too clogged. There are too many scenes with different set design, and it goes too long. (Did we need to see all the stuff with Russell’s ex wife? Or with his ex partner? Or Denzel walking around?) They don’t go the obvious way and overly glamorise Denzel – while yes he’s a movie star and there are corrupt cops around, heroin is clearly a Bad Thing. The stuff with Russell Crowe being a stud seems a bit too much like “hey let’s write these scenes to attract Russell”, and the emotional link between him and Denzel is rushed at the end.

But there is lots to admire: not a bad performance in the film (wish we’d had more of Cuba Gooding Jnr and I never thought I’d say that – by the way what happens to his character>), stunning design as always in a Ridley Scott film, an exciting raid at the end, a great moment when Denzel gets into trouble only after breaking his code and dressing lavishly, the scene where Ruby Dee tells off Denzel.