Things that bother me about American Gangster

Ok, so I felt that American Gangster was a pretty solid movie overall and an enjoyable way to spend an evening. That said, watching it was a pretty frustrating experience because it was nowhere near as good as it could have been. Before I really get into it, however, let me disclose that I have never really enjoyed any Ridley Scott movie [Alien is ok, but obviously pales in comparison to its sequel], am completely ambivalent about Denzel Washington, and actively dislike Russell Crowe. So that probably colored my thoughts quite a bit. I'm trying to avoid spoilers here since the movie just came out on DVD, so bear with me if some of this sounds very vague.

- American Gangster plays like a greatest hits record of mob movie tropes over the past 40 years or so. Wait, what's this? You mean that mobsters can run their business in a manner parallel to legitimate corporations? World political events providing a catalyst for the film's action? A mob man maintaining a family and trophy wife while at the same time being a ruthless killer? Yea, it's all here and more. These omni-present conventions [a cynic might call them cliches] would be forgivable if there were excellent performances or interesting camera work, but unfortunately neither of those exist in American Gangster. This leads to a kind of bland movie, overall. Though RZA's performance gave me particular enjoyment.

- Again, my prejudiced eye is probably abnormal in this regard, but so many things about American Gangster seemed questionable from a legal point of view. The police force, as depicted, shows a mere modicum of respect for the Fourth and Fifth Amendment, and there is a big professional responsibility issue that pops up in my mind, but I won't detail it. In addition to having studied criminal investigation, I really think that watching The Wire has spoiled me. The investigations on The Wire are so wonderfully detailed and logical, that watching American Gangster makes Russell Crowe's investigative team look like the Superfriends.

Photo courtesy of Seanbaby. Anyway, the point is that the investigation techniques used in American Gangster are glossed over at best and moronic hunches that somehow turn accurate at worst. It really marred the movie for me, but I'm a dork like that.

- The final scene, and particularly the final shot, are really silly. So many unnecessary and unexplained things. I'll leave it at that.

- The fact that the movie was based on a true story, so any of my claims that parts of the movie's plot are untenable are null and void! How frustrating!