I enjoyed the movie, but an original masterpiece it ain't. Frank's (Denzel W's)explosive and irrational character is basically a black version of Warren Beatty's BUGSY and the rest of the movie is full of clichés' that we've seen a hundred times before; they simply substitute the stereotypical Italian character with a black man. Particularly strange was Frank's dialect going from "ghetto black" to Harvard educated white(depending on his mood).But for me, what really separates this movie from the true American gangster classics (Godfather or Goodfellas), is they were based on fact; American Gangster is pure fiction. Not a mention of the racial tensions of the early 70's, in fact we are supposed to accept that no brow is raised over Frank marrying a non-black girl; even momma declares "she's the most beautiful woman in the world". Frank's family, inner circle and entire world is an organized and well run fictional BLACK euphoria ... emphasis on the word FICTIONAL.
Review of American Gangster
