I don’t know about you, but I just love it when Denzel Washington plays bad guys. I didn’t think he could ever top his performance as a corrupt cop in 2001’s Training Day, but he comes awfully close with his portrayal of real life 1970’s Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas.
You may have heard about Lucas. He’s the guy who built an empire based on the purity of his heroin, which he christened with the brand name Blue Magic. He was also the guy who handed out Thanksgiving turkeys to crowds on the street like a benevolent czar feeding his serfs, even as he committed violence of all types and sold the product that ruined and/or ended countless lives.
Washington plays Lucas as an understated, dignified man who thought of himself as a businessman first and foremost. Watching the movie, you almost want to applaud the man’s brilliance as he thinks outside the box and builds his empire, but then you remember.
This guy was no hero.
Another great Oscar winner, Russell Crowe, who turned in a stellar performance a couple of months ago in 3:10 to Yuma, is back as Richie Roberts, the incorruptible cop who identifies, hunts, and eventually nails Lucas. Crowe does his usual phenomenal job, and the few scenes the actors have together really crackle with electricity.
One caveat: the movie is pretty long, so you may want to pack a lunch or get the extra large popcorn.
You don’t want to miss this one. And wait’ll you get a load of Washington in the chinchilla coat and hat ensemble that was the beginning of Lucas’s downfall.
I saw this on Friday. I thought it was good. I think the build-up was so big that it left me a little underwhelmed after I saw it though. I liked it. I didn’t love it. Denzel was good and so was Russell Crowe. But I didn’t leave the theatre raving about it…
Gwyneth
by Gwyneth Bolton November 5th, 2007 at 8:57 amGwen, one of the things that got me about this movie was the women’s complicity. Even Lucas’s MOTHER seemed to be lacking a moral compass, at least until the bitter end.
I tell ya…
by ann November 6th, 2007 at 9:44 am