Ridley Scott's American Gangster

[ThierryEnnui]

I thought it was OK, but overlong and dull, and very difficult to care what happened to any of the characters.
The soundtrack was 70's soul by numbers, as used in every other hollywood gangster film. Make sure you've got plenty of energy if you see it in the cinema or you will almost definitely fall asleep in the last hour.
Most of the people I work with seem to love it, but then again I've never heard them being critical of any Denzel film.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

Can't believe anyone would think it might be any good
Everything about it screams shite!

 

[corporate whore]

Can't believe anyone would think it might be any good
Everything about it screams shite!

How so?

 

[lostexpectation]

I thought it was OK, but overlong and dull, and very difficult to care what happened to any of the characters.
The soundtrack was 70's soul by numbers, as used in every other hollywood gangster film. Make sure you've got plenty of energy if you see it in the cinema or you will almost definitely fall asleep in the last hour.
Most of the people I work with seem to love it, but then again I've never heard them being critical of any Denzel film.

the late review actually pointed out there had a 50's song on the radio (in the 70's), ie not every song was was a 70's song making it more real world.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

How so?

oooh the people in it, the way the poster looks, the title, everything about it really....

 

[ThierryEnnui]

I was musing on the use of 'American' as almost a prefix, and what it's intended to project.

Didn't get far.

I think it's a marketing ploy to make it sound important and epic, so that film people think that it's one of those 'not to be missed' movies.

 

[corporate whore]

oooh the people in it, the way the poster looks, the title, everything about it really....

thought the cast was pretty good - Denzel's his usual self with added violence, but Crowe's alright, as are all the other cops, Josh Brolin's sleazy as fuck, Chiwetel Ejiofor gets some good bits and blink and you miss Common and RZA.

Not big on female parts, but crime movies seldom are..

 

[ThierryEnnui]

the late review actually pointed out there had a 50's song on the radio (in the 70's), ie not every song was was a 70's song making it more real world.

I didn't notice that, but the soundtrack was very lazy. if you were compiling a soundtrack for a Hollywood film set in the 70's, you would avoid repeating tracks that had been used in other similar films. This is why it made me cringe when Bobby Womack's 'Across 110th St' came on, out of all the songs they could have chosen, they pick one from the Jackie Brown soundtrack.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

thought the cast was pretty good - Denzel's his usual self with added violence, but Crowe's alright, as are all the other cops, James Brolin's sleazy as fuck, Chiwetel Ejiofor gets some good bits and blink and you miss Common and RZA.

Not big on female parts, but crime movies seldom are..

I'm just not interested in this kind of Hollywood "product" and am amazed at anyone could think this kind of rubbish would be any good. Each to their own I suppose.

 

[corporate whore]

I'm just not interested in this kind of Hollywood "product" and am amazed at anyone could think this kind of rubbish would be any good. Each to their own I suppose.

Ah, what would I know. I only saw it.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

Ah, what would I know. I only saw it.

I said each to their own
I've seen enough movies to know from the way a movie is being sold whether I will have any interest in it. I honestly think these kind of movies are utter bollocks but it depends what you want from a film I suppose.

 

[ThierryEnnui]

Not big on female parts, but crime movies seldom are..

The scene in the drugs lab was.

 

[corporate whore]

The scene in the drugs lab was.

Yeah. But so was the identical one in New Jack City.

 

[corporate whore]

it depends what you want from a film I suppose.

For sure. Sometimes I want two hours of glossy fun, big collars and a groovy soundtrack. That's what I got and I was under no illusions either.

 

[Firky]

Did you ever see "A History of Violence" with Ed Harris and Wm. Hurt? That was pretty good.

Yeah I enjoyed that.

 

[Firky]

Pfft, I stopped at LA Confidential.

Aye

Kill Bill FFS

</film snob>

 

[Firky]

I thought it was OK, but overlong and dull, and very difficult to care what happened to any of the characters.
The soundtrack was 70's soul by numbers, as used in every other hollywood gangster film. Make sure you've got plenty of energy if you see it in the cinema or you will almost definitely fall asleep in the last hour.
Most of the people I work with seem to love it, but then again I've never heard them being critical of any Denzel film.

Yup, it is like Asda's Finest range, looks good, you think its good, then you realise it isn't (if you have any taste )

 

[foo]

oh god, i promised to go to see this with my lil brother and i'm not looking forward to it. i'm no fan of Ridley Scott (macho twat) and this film looks soooooo fuckin predictable. black man, gangster, loves his mother but likes killing people etc. etc. Saw idiot Ross review it last night....another predictable macho twat.

i'll probably borrow my son's i-pod and hum away to myself in the dark.

 

[Doctor Carrot]

It was watchable I suppose but nothing really special, I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again. I know what you mean by the way it ends firky, it's almost as if the crew were saying "Hurry up, I wanna catch last orders".

 

[ck]

interesting but boring

that makes no sense.

 

[frogwoman]

i thought it was really good!

 

[privatecaller]

i loved it but it did go on a bit long and the ending was WAY rushed.

 

[D'wards]

I thought it was okay, but the way i can tell if i liked a film is if i would see it agian soon, and there is no way i would want to sit through this again.

As Ross said, it has good performances, good direction, good story, but just feels flat.

 

[Gramsci]

Well I was curious to see it as a Black New Yorker I now was going on about Lucas.(He was in NY at the time).Also a Black British friend of mine(who is not into crime) was going to see it.Denzels becoming a bit of a star in the Black community IMO.

Seems to me that this is not one of RS best films(Alien,Bladerunner and Gladiator are his best IMO).Its not that original.Seems to follow the fashion of 70s film making-see recent Munich and Zodiac.

Based on a real life drugs lord who ran an operation of a size that no one could believe a black guy could do it.Denzel in the film is an ambiguous figure.Hes a respectable business and family man also a ruthless gangster.Unlike Scarface -whose poster adorns many gangsta rappers walls.In fact that is what is most interesting about the film-its true like story and RS and Denzels interpretation of its (anti?) hero.

Unlike De Palmas Scarface I dont think RS pulls it off entirely.Though I think theres more in it than appears to some.Its like Gangs of New York-historically got me interested in that period and its implications.

See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lucas_(drug_lord)

 

[Kaka Tim]

Just like Bladerunner, then? What a surprise.

Praise be - I thought I was totally alone on the Bladerunner thing.

 

[Maltin]

I enjoyed it, but wasn't very impressed with Russell Crowe's character. The film certainly didn't make me think "wow".

 

[Rogue]

I enjoyed it, but wasn't very impressed with Russell Crowe's character. The film certainly didn't make me think "wow".

Saw it the other day. I know what you mean that it doesn't make you go "wow" but I think that misses the point slightly.

The characters I thought were a little unusual given the nature of the story. It's certainly not what I imagine to be a typical gangster film in that respect. But on reflection I think this really adds to its charm and conveys reasonably well that it is based on the true story of a mans life.

(Although Denzel does have a knack of really fucking me off sometimes - smugness I think is what it is.)

I thought the direction/editing/stuff like that was pretty seamless

And sheesh they must have done a shed load of really good heroin in New York in the 70's.


Yeah I liked it a lot actually - far superior than your standard gangster film for the most part.

 

[danny la rouge]

Praise be - I thought I was totally alone on the Bladerunner thing.

No, we meet in huddled groups here and there, never quite sure when we'll be denounced...

 

[kyser_soze]

Meh, reminded me a bit of Miami Vice, only that it had more potential lessrealised. Good film, but not long enough, and somwhat disjointed. Can't comment on visuals cos I was watching a crappy pixellated torrent of it...

Interesting tho, might find more about this fella out - seems he was something unique, an afro-american gangster who attempted to run his crew the Mafia way...if he'd succeeded maybe US crime would have been very different in the 80s and 90s...who knows...

 

[CyberRose]

Can't say I enjoyed it that much. Russel Crow is crap and insepid, Denzil Washington is well... Denzil. Nothing much really happens it just meanders along for two hours until the inevitable shoot out at the end. All the characters in it have no real depth to them. Crow cares about his kid and Washington takes care of his mum and that's about as much as you find out about them or care to. The rest of the characters are just filler on screen.

Dull. Boring. Long.

4/10

Went to see this yesterday and really enjoyed it!

I agree that there was little character depth to most of the charcters other than Washington's character. I think his character had enough depth, as did Crow's character (altho I would have liked a little more explanation as to why turning in $1m is frowned upon, and what made him such a goody two shoes cop)

I was actually quite suprised when I got out the cinema and realised how long it had gone on for cos it didn't seem to drag at all.

And I am seriously considering growing a 70s style moustache! They were awsome!!!