Ridley Scott’s American Gangster is presented as a crime epic that has improved with age, thanks chiefly to Denzel Washington’s controlled, intimidating performance as real-life heroin trafficker Frank Lucas. The film follows Lucas’s rise in Harlem after he bypasses established suppliers to import cheaper, purer heroin from Thailand during the Vietnam War, challenging criminal and racial power structures. Its enduring strength lies in pairing the allure of Lucas’s ambition with an unflinching account of the harm caused by his drug empire.

Lucas recruits his brothers from North Carolina, keeps a deliberately modest appearance and clashes with corrupt detective Nick Trupo, played by Josh Brolin. His ascent unfolds alongside wider cultural shifts symbolised by Muhammad Ali, while scenes of wealth and influence are contrasted with addiction, overdoses and the exploitation of veterans. The article argues that Scott and writer Steven Zaillian excel at Lucas’s dark character portrait, though Russell Crowe’s parallel storyline as Newark detective Richie Roberts is less compelling.