The Dean of Cinema

There are two sides to the American dream. Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.

Written by Dean Zarbaugh II

From master filmmaker Ridley Scott comes one of the best modern crime epics, chronicling the rise and fall of Frank Lucas. Scott unleashes all of his directing acumen in this thrilling drama that explores the corruption of the American dream. Frank Lucas was a man who wanted to provide a better life for his family. Unfortunately, he turned his street and business smarts to crime to do this, specifically the dealing of heroin throughout New York City.

American Gangster is The Untouchables meets The Godfather. Detective Richie Roberts, the Eliot Ness of his era; an honest cop who doesn’t take a dime from criminals. He and his partner became a pariahs in their department for putting a million dollars in evidence rather than take it for themselves. And like Ness, Roberts had marriage troubles because of the toll the job took on him. Unlike Ness though, Roberts had affairs with his informants, lawyer, and more. He associated with a lot of reprobates and shady characters that Ness wouldn’t be caught dead working with. However, in the end, their goals were the same: rid the streets of criminals, especially the ones wearing badges.

The script from Steve Zaillian is a tightly crafted story that even the nearly 3 hours long unrated cut never overstays its welcome. Roberts is a cop who goes to school at night to become a lawyer. He wants to improve his lot in life and works hard to earn it. Frank Lucas had the same work ethic, but applied it towards dealing drugs and controlling the streets. He also went about things much more violently, even murdering anyone who gets in his way or disrespects him. At the end of the day, both men are pursuing what we all were promised: “The American Dream.” George Carlin once said of the American Dream that it’s called that “because you gotta be asleep to believe it.” In theory, the American Dream is perfect. If someone works hard enough, does the right things, and follows the rules, they’ll succeed in life. In reality, it’s a fairytale fed to people in order to keep them compliant and reliant on the status quo. It wasn’t always this way. The dream was achievable by the middle class at one point in time, admittedly mainly by white families. Today, the only people achieving that so-called American Dream are the billionaire class, technocrats and the corrupt politicians selling out their country to the highest bidder. It’s become a bastardized version of what it once was. In 2026, the American dream is further than ever from the lower and middle class upon whose backs this country was built. In some cruel twist of fate, men like Frank Lucas are now applauded and even given air time to peddle their drug to addicts and potential addicts alike with the constant barrage of ads from DraftKings™️ and their ilk. Frank and DraftKings™️ both solicit addiction to their customers. One is applauded and the other is criticized and held to a different standard. Gambling is ruining just as many lives these days as drugs, especially the toll it’s taken on players and their families from gambling addicts who blame them for losing a bet. Where do we draw the line on who we admire and who we admonish? American Gangster puts a mirror to our country and shows us all of its faults laid bare in front of us. Drugs, corruption in the police force, violence in the streets. It’s sad to admit we’re not that far from where we were in the late 60’s and early 70’s shown in the film.

Ridley Scott shows the audience both sides of Frank’s dealings. We see the success from Frank’s perspective with the big house and all the fine things for his family, and we see the failures from Richie’s perspective with the chaos and destruction Frank’s heroin is having on the streets. People are dying, sometimes in the presence of their own children, chasing the high Frank provides at a discount compared to his competitors. Frank doesn’t care because he’s getting his and is having doors opened for him to the fanciest spots in town. Scott is the perfect director to examine the male ego and how far men will go to maintain it.

Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors of all time. There’s nothing the man can’t do. He gives an all-star performance as Frank Lucas. As usual, whenever he’s on screen, you’re fully captivated by his performance. Frank isn’t your normal gangster. He’s smart. Cunning. Ruthless. He can shake your hand with one hand while stabbing you in the back with the other. Denzel Washington brings not just the fear and intimidation required of playing Lucas, but also his warm, charming, smooth-talking side that helped him get where he was. There’s a moment in the film where Frank realizes that he’s become everything he was taught not to be: flashy, arrogant and prominent. Washington shows us the full weight of his acting throughout the film, but the moment he throws the coat in the fireplace is one of my favorite scenes.

Russell Crowe is incredible as Detective Richie Roberts, a cop who is tired of being around all the “action” and the toll that it has taken on his personal life. Crowe is renowned for playing these grandiose characters like in Gladiator, so it’s nice to see him return to playing a character that allows him to flex more of his emotional chops. He’s gripping to watch as he works to simultaneously build a better life for himself, and nab Frank Lucas once and for all.

Josh Brolin is delightfully twisted and evil as Detective Trupo, one of the aforementioned dirty cops that Roberts wants eradicated from the police department. He’s always been able to knock any role he takes on out of the park, and American Gangster is no different. There are multiple times I wanted to reach through the screen and smother the bastard myself. That’s the mark of a great performance. Brolin is another actor like Crowe and Washington who can play multi-layered characters that can evoke a genuine reaction from audiences.

Thanks to sharp writing, masterclass acting, and top notch directing, American Gangster is a thrilling ride through one of the biggest drug busts in history, and a must watch for fans of Ridley Scott, Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. It keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout and doesn’t have an ounce of fat on it.

GRADE: A