AMERICAN GANGSTER ***

This real-life crime movie isn't the kind of film you might readily associate with Ridley Scott moving, quite effortlessly it seems to me, into Scorsese territory with the story of Frank Lucas, a New York drug king and his involvement with some very corrupt cops. A terrific Denzel Washington is Lucas, (why no Oscar nomination for something approaching a career-best performance), and Russell Crowe is very good as the honest cop out to nail him. This is a prestige production and no mistake with an outstanding cast that also includes Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr, John Hawkes and Ruby Dee, Oscar-nominated as Lucas' mother. Steve Zaillian did the excellent script from an article by Mark Jacobson and Harris Savides was responsible for the superb cinematography. Scorsese would probably have adopted a more kinetic approach but Scott doesn't disappoint, (he rarely does). No classic perhaps, but so much better than what I expected and what it might have been. Hugely entertaining.