American Gangster (2007)

"American Gangster," the second film to pit Denzel Washington against Russell Crowe, improves with each viewing, although this crime drama never reaches the pinnacle level of "The French Connection" or even "Heat."

In the utterly bad 1995 thriller "Virtuosity," Crowe played a villain against Washington's unorthodox cop hero. Here, Crowe is unorthodox cop Richie Roberts, a Boy Scout on the job but a miserable louse at home, tasked with bringing down Harlem crime lord Frank Lucas (Washington). My first viewing left me under-whelmed as I expected and wanted a gritty, clockwork crime thriller. But this film, directed by Ridley Scott ("Gladiator") and written by Steven Zailian ("Schindler's List"), is more interested in the character and inner-workings of these opposing forces, not just the crime beat.

Crowe once more disappears into a role as the tough but fair police officer so honest he once turned in $1 million after a bust. He's also a bit of nerd, fumbling into a sweaty heap at the thought of speaking before an audience. Ironically, Lucas is a family man who remains loyal to his mother (Ruby Dee) and wife (Lymari Nadal). You marvel at the great heights Lucas could have reached had he been on the right side of the law. But in late 60s/early 70s, such hands were not dealt to American blacks.

I didn't like Washington's performance the first time I saw this, but was instantly won over this time. What I took for lazy arrogance in Washington's acting has turned into admiration for a fine performance of a man completely at ease with murder, selling of drugs and going to church on Sunday. Lucas' eyes, though, open as an army of corrupt NYC cops lays waste to his mansion, looking for money, and his momma slaps him in the face for the vengeance he'll seek. It's telling of Dee's power as an actress in her 80s that she can take a film from the hands of Washington and Crowe, but she does so.

Scott, as with Michael Mann, here becomes a master of detail, and his dramatization of the inner-workings of police and criminals is fascinating although the film wastes too much time on family court sideshows and making Lucas' family out to be Southern hillbillies gawking at big ol' New York. Best shocker: Cuba Gooding Jr. finally lands a meaty part in a highbrow film after years of miserable features so bad they now line the discount DVD bins at Wal-Mart. Let's hope he keeps up this path. A-