In this present age of no-name, no acting young "talent", certain names, when mentioned get instant respect which leads to our eagerly spent box office dollars. Hackman, Freeman, Kingsley, Jackson and right at the top, Washington! Denzel is at the top of his game and has been there for some years now. Whatever type of role they throw at him, he exceeds all expectations and earns his paycheck. As the usual good guy he is always good. This time as the bad guy he is even MORE gooder! (Yeah, I know. It just came out that way!) Bumpy Johnson (Clarence Williams III), who has ruled Harlem for four decades and is loved by it's residents, dies. His driver of 15 years is Frank Lucas (Denzel), a North Carolina transplant who is both a diligent student and a ruthlessly vicious and violent thug. He is the obvious successor and while assuming the reins he "improves" the Johnson organization by using some of Bumpy's dying words. He travels to Thailand and gets heroin straight from the grower, "cutting out all middle men" and then selling a purer product cheaper than the competition can. The techniques he utilizes would be considered innovative, were they not so ruthless. Like transporting the heroin in the coffins of killed soldiers in Vietnam and labeling HIS heroin as "Blue Magic" right on the bag the "customer" receives. Frank is on top of the world when he commits the very same error that he warns his own brother against. This brings him to the attention of a special New Jersey Drug Unit headed up by ultra honest cop, Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe). Well, we know what happens next! This is a true story and though we know the conclusion of it, it's the art of story telling that gets us to that conclusion in a very entertaining way. Ridley Scott's direction gives us the pace needed to entertain with just enough details to do justice to the truth. Washington and Crowe will surely be mentioned in the same sentence with the word Oscar® for their performances, but there were others. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin, Carla Gugino (wow!) and Roger Guenveur Smith gave solid performances that added to the raw, edgy look and feel of the story. This picture is harsh and real. It's also a tale of good and evil in the American style that shows the streets for what they are, without sugar coating. The violence and drugs are portrayed without glorification and there is a definite message that crime does NOT pay! This is not a great picture but it is a very GOOD picture and in this case, that's enough! I liked it very much. "My man!" RECOMMENDATION: If you can take the nudity, people being shot in head and set on fire, the junkies fixing, the language and sex, you will be entertained by a well made crime drama and true story. LEAVE THE KIDS AND PRUDES AT HOME!!! Rated R for all of the above. TWO STREET WISE, FAMILY VALUELESS THUMBS UP!!! (With crooked cops everywhere!) Movie Review © 2007 by Terry Anderson |
