American Gangster–with Denzel Washington and Russell Crow in the leads–has all the makings of a classic crime movie. The fact-based story is compelling, and corrupt cops and gangsters just generally makes for interesting drama.
When it comes to cops and robbers/heist/good guy-bad guy movies, as a viewer, I want one of two things. Either I want to root for the bad guys to get away with it, or I want the good guys to beat the bad guys.
For me, the problem with American Gangster is thaAmerican Gangster–with Denzel Washington and Russell Crow in the leads–has all the makings of a classic crime movie. The fact-based story is compelling, and corrupt cops and gangsters just generally makes for interesting drama.
When it comes to cops and robbers/heist/good guy-bad guy movies, as a viewer, I want one of two things. Either I want to root for the bad guys to get away with it, or I want the good guys to beat the bad guys.
For me, the problem with American Gangster is that I didn’t really care which side won. I won’t give anything away, but even though both leads were very good, and the storytelling was methodical and intricate, it lacked emotional impact. I just didn’t care very much for either character. I didn’t hate the lead characters, but I didn’t root for them either.
So while American Gangster is a well-crafted movie overall, it lacks oomph. I give it a thumbs up, but it was a movie loaded with 4-star potential that falls a little short of the mark.
