Image Credit : yoshi_2442 on flickr

Ridley Scotts' new movie - a slow burning crime epic closer to 'The Godfather' than 'New Jack City' - takes in about forty years of the life of harlem druglord Frank Lucas.

Though the massive scope of the movie makes it a little slow, and the long timespan can be a little confusing at times, 'American Gangster' is a pretty classy movie.

Aside from the expected strong performance of Denzel Washington as the determined Lucas, the classiest black gangster in cinema, you get Russell Crowe acting about as far from 'Gladiator' as you can imagine with his Serpio-style cop who can't keep his life on track, with the few scenes the two share being among the best.

The slow and steady pace is puncuated by some understated but effective violence, and watching Lucas's empire grow whilst Crowe's investigation slowly simmers in the background, making for a nice tension. 'American Gangster' is undoubtedly good, but the pacing might require a bit too much patience for the rushed ending.

Rating: 3/5