"AMERICAN GANGSTER" ('07) ..... B

Any time a movie offers performances by two of the most charismatic actors in the world on the screen for the first time together, it would be only fair to assume that the movie will be as special as its actors, Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. I am sorry to say that I was greatly disappointed in this film. This movie exhibits many of the reasons why the whole can often be equal to far less than the sum of its cinematic parts. In this instance, its many parts, as this film ends up being a ponderous, plodding history lesson that drags on for an interminably long two hours and 40 minutes.

It must be granted that Washington and Crowe both deliver powerful performances in their roles as drug kingpin Frank Lucas and Detective Richie Roberts. However, Washington offers the superior performance since his role is far more complex and nuanced. We see Frank Lucas as an employee, a business entrepreneur, a family man, a killer, a husband, and finally a prisoner.

His role is multidimensional, whereas Crowe's portrayal of Detective Roberts exhibits a man of singular pursuits, driven though he may be. Everything is subsumed by his determination to take down the hierarchy of the illicit drug trade. Roberts will stop at nothing to accomplish this, not even to save his marriage to Laurie (Carla Gugino), or to be an attentive father to his son.

Both of these men represent a classic example of extreme loyalty. Frank Lucas to the business ethic and his family, and the equally driven Detective Roberts to a level of integrity that makes him the Elliot Ness Untouchable of the NYPD.

There is nothing wrong with their performances, but producers and script writers have to learn that in many cases more is not more, but rather that less is more. This film script badly needed a rewrite which would have pared down the broad swath of its multiple story lines to something far more manageable than what we have here.

Rather than being the story about a charismatic black Harlem businessman and the cop who dares to buck the establishment by taking him down, writer Steve Zaillian has flooded this film with a lecture about the business of building a low cost, high profit drug empire. This is a "how to" movie more suited to an MBA program than it is for the general public who want to be entertained by a story that is reasonably cohesive.

You have only to compare this movie about Frank Lucas to that of the rise of the Corleone family in the Godfather trilogy. There are many similarities. Godfather's I and II were taut, tight movies that didn't drag for a minute, and yet even with that the studio heads were complaining to Francis Ford Coppola about the length of those films. Those studio execs should all be around to sit through this one...

On paper, the concept of a film about the rise and fall of a Harlem drug lord looks like a winner. The casting was exceptional, but, surprisingly, it is the second tier roles which impress me the most. Ruby Dee is wonderful as Mama Lucas, the matriarchal head of the extended Lucas clan. What a delight to see her again on the silver screen. Equally delightful is the appearance of newcomer Lymari Nadal as Eva, Frank Lucas' comely, multinational wife, a stunning woman who heats up the screen with her sultry presence.

Finally, Josh Brolin is having a great year with another memorable role as the corrupt Detective Trupo of the NYPD office of "Special Investigations." He will have the honor of appearing in two Oscar-nominated films for 2007, but make no mistake about the fact that "No Country for Old Men" is by far the better film.

The award season is already upon us, and this film is starting to collect nominations for best picture along with numerous acting awards. I won't begrudge "American Gangster" for any Oscar nominations save that for Best Picture. It simply doesn't deserve it.

As for Denzel Washington, he is starting to become the black, male version of Meryl Streep for the new Millennium. He is so good that he is in danger, if I can call it that, of collecting an Oscar nod for every performance. Deservedly so, too, so I have no complaints. 157 minutes and rated R for violence, pervasive drug content, and language, nudity, and sexuality.