A great crime drama in a time when such films have become rare without the boost of big banging shoot-em up guns blasting away.
Though based on a real story of a drug kingpin & the police detective determined to bring him down, the film goes down the path of the ever prevalent poetic licensing that these types of films tend to take, in order to focus more on the story of the rise & fall of an Amarican gangster whose distrubution of only the purest of heroin whilst eliminating the "middleman" changed the way drugs became distributed on the streets.
Denzel Washington plays the crimelord who sees his only option towards the American Dream is his wry combination of street-savy intellect & non-hesitant ruthlessness. Russell Crowes seemlessly tackles the part of the leader of a police task-force whose unwavering straight-edged honesty serves as both crutch & "cure" to the corrupt laden NYC precincts.
Both actors move through their respective roles with a chemistrytic ease that can only result from two artisans both comfortable & confident with their craft.
American Gangster is definitely worth a hit.
8/10