American Gangster – Dove.org

OK. I knew the movie wasn’t titled “Pollyanna”, but still, “American Gangster” has so much strong language, violence and blood, nudity and sex outside of marriage, that it is just way over the top. The film is saturated with drug use, revenge and unrestrained pleasure. The scenes which bring the film to its conclusion are some of the best as they include the only scenes of Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe acting together, and there is no question that these are talented actors who chewed up the scenery in the ending of this movie.

Still, seeing the bloody arms of drug users, and people shot in the face, as well as hearing the racial slurs, left me leaving the theater disappointed at just how far some films these days are daring to go. The screenwriters must be at a loss at coming up with dialog so they just stick the F word in the scenes about every five to ten seconds. How sad. And what a lack of imagination. If there is any redeeming message in this film, I suppose it is that crime doesn’t pay. This film cannot be awarded our Dove Seal as a family-friendly film.