Rated R

Directed by Ridley Scott

Starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe

Heidi’s Illustrious Rating: 3 (reluctantly)

Word of Warning to you softies out there: gang-style gun violence, drug use and Denzel Washington is a bad guy –> whose idea was that??

By the time this film was released I’d been seeing previews for so long it felt like I’d already seen the movie.  Based on true events, Denzel Washington plays 1970’s herion king-pin, Frank Lucas.  Russell Crowe plays Richie Roberts, a New Jersey police officer assigned to the first-ever drug enforcement task force.  Roberts is known as a cop who can’t be bribed and Lucas is known as a king-pin not to be messed with.  While Lucas become more and more powerful, Roberts becomes more and more desperate to shut him down; and thus the game of cat and mouse begins.

I wanted to love this movie, but I walked away having enjoyed it, but not loving it.  It doesn’t have the punch of Taffic, or the twists of The Departed (two great movies I would put in the same genre).  The performances are solid; though Denzel Washington just doesn’t quite cut it as a bad guy and at times Russell Crowe’s attempts at a Jersey accent sound exactly like an Aussi attempting a Jersey accent.  In my illustrious opinion, Denzel Washington was a bad pick for this role.  Washington’s character, Frank Lucas, was a bad guy, but for some reason I found myself rooting for him.  Other people who have seen the movie confess to these feelings as well.  I think Washington has played too many “nice guys” in his career – we associate him with likable characters and it is difficult (I would say, impossible) to picture him as anything else.

I felt detached from the story as it unfolded in the movie and this is due to several reasons.  The fact I wasn’t even born during the period in which this movie unfolds, could be part of the reason.  However, I have been very attached to other “period” pieces through the years.  So what is it about this movie that left me wanting? 

Whether it was Ridley Scott’s intention or not, there is little time spent on the effects Frank Lucas’ drug trade had on users and the families of users.  In other words, where Traffic displays in graphic and gruesome scenes the harm that comes from drug use, this movie glosses quickly over this factor.  Instead, it focuses on the riches and glory that come from running drugs – everyone is enriched, from the drug lords to the crooked cops.  The movie doesn’t pretend the life of a drug runner or crooked cop is particularly easy or safe and the story does reflect a sort of “live by sword, die by the sword” theme. 

But in the end, it felt more like a documentary about the life of Frank Lucas than a movie.  I wasn’t particularly moved by the movie and it didn’t really encourage any afterthoughts about the material presented.  The movies is good, it’s just not great.

If you are interested in the history of the 1970’s herion king-pins and the cops who chased them, this movie will entertain you.  If you are looking for a riveting movie about drugs in America, watch Traffic.  If you are in the mood for a exciting movie about crooked cops, watch The Departed.