American Gangster

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American Gangster

R

Released Nov 2, 2007

2h 37m

Crime

Drama

Biography

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

213 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Frank Lucas earns his living as a chauffeur to one of Harlem's leading mobsters; after his boss dies, Frank uses his own ingenuity and strict business code to become one of the inner city's most powerful crime bosses; veteran cop Richie Roberts senses a change in the mob's power structure and looks for ways to bring his opponent to justice.

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Critics Consensus

American Gangster is a gritty and entertaining throwback to classic gangster films, with its lead performers firing on all cylinders.

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Alonso Duralde

MSNBC

Telling a true story doesn't excuse a filmmaker from making his movie stand out from the many others that have traversed similar ground.

Rated: 2/5

May 1, 2008

Full Review

David Stratton

At the Movies (Australia)

Best of all, there are top-flight performances from both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe who create interesting, rounded characters out of potential clichés.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 12, 2008

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Amy Nicholson

I.E. Weekly

Scott's not interested in fireworks but small implosions of the soul and ego.

Rated: B

Feb 3, 2008

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Scott evokes the crime cinema of the seventies with his mix of gritty police thriller and sprawling crime epic (with a sprinkling of blaxploitation excess).... But its roots are equally in the rise-and-fall gangster thrillers of the eighties and nineties.

Jun 11, 2023

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Justin Brown

Medium Popcorn

Despite having a personal connection to the story in this film, I also love this movie for the dialogue, performances (particularly Denzel's) and the music.

Rated: 5/5

Nov 20, 2022

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Brandon Collins

Medium Popcorn

Very solid performances anchored by Denzel. I think they could have trimmed 15-20 minutes of the Russell Crowe storyline and it would have been a near perfect film.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 20, 2022

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Elijah M

This movie suprised me was excepting a run of the mill crime movie but watching out I was deeply invested and at one point I cheered for Frank Lucas. Nevertheless Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe were the stars they delivered. The dynamic between and the characters they portrayed made this movie a great watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/20/24

Full Review

Ron R

A great movie. Denzel at his best. Otherwise, made me despise the POS crusader Ritchie Roberts. Please go dispose of yourself you despicable self righteous a**ole.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/27/24

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Brian D

Boring story, not Denzel's best work.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/25/24

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Audience Member

Such an underrated movie. I watch it at least once a year. Amazing performances. Great story.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/20/24

Full Review

Sams K

Denzel Washington totally rocks here! A masterpiece of gangster genre. You must watch this!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/23/24

Full Review

Andy B

The gangster's rise and fall story has been done plenty of times before but this one does it nearly as well as any. On the downside, I got the impression the audience was supposed to somehow sympathise with Lucas and it's difficult when he shows no care or remorse for the enormous damage he's done. Plus, for someone who spends the entire runtime talking about how much family means and having deliberately involved them in his business, he's awfully quick at helping the police lock them up to cut his own sentence.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/22/24

Full Review

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Ridley Scott

Director

Denzel Washington

Frank Lucas

Russell Crowe

Richie Roberts

Chiwetel Ejiofor

Huey Lucas

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Nicky Barnes

Josh Brolin

Detective Trupo

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American Gangster: Official Clip - Don't Lie to Your Mother

1:52

American Gangster: Official Clip - Progress

2:59

American Gangster: Official Clip - The End For Frank

1:42

American Gangster: Official Clip - Heroin House Raid

2:45

American Gangster: Official Clip - Above the Mafia

1:52

American Gangster: Official Clip - Drive-By Shooting

1:49

American Gangster: Official Clip - Diluting the Brand

2:54

American Gangster: Official Clip - Somebody Or Nobody

2:00

American Gangster: Official Clip - The Right Thing To Do

2:26

American Gangster: Official Clip - Fed Up

2:08

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Synopsis

Frank Lucas earns his living as a chauffeur to one of Harlem's leading mobsters; after his boss dies, Frank uses his own ingenuity and strict business code to become one of the inner city's most powerful crime bosses; veteran cop Richie Roberts senses a change in the mob's power structure and looks for ways to bring his opponent to justice.

Director: Ridley Scott
Producer: Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott, Dan Griffin
Screenwriter: Steven Zaillian
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Scott Free Productions
Rating: R (Nudity|Language|Pervasive Drug Content|Sexuality|Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 2, 2007, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 13, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $130.1M
Runtime: 2h 37m
Sound Mix: SDDS, DTS, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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