Superb film. It will, however, cause a black/white divide among viewers. White viewers will tend to see it as a tragedy and think of all the people hurt by the drug trade. Black viewers will see it as heroic and will cheer the triumph of a black man against a white controlled system. Frank Lucas, if nothing else, was a superior businessman, not unlike the head of any American drug company. The heads of the so called "legitimate" drug companies frequently produce drugs that injure and kill people. We don't, of course, find out about the damage these drugs cause to people until years after they have been in use. Then the FDA or some other government agency says "Oops, that drug is dangerous and we have to stop using it." By the time that is discovered the drug company has made billions, the CEO has retired or moved on to another company, and is richer than Midas. It is unlikely that he will serve time as a result of his company selling a dangerous drug to the public. A good example of harmful drugs being sold to the public are cigarettes - we know they cause harm, kill people, and you rarely if ever see the CEO of a cigarette company serving time. Frank Lucas simply used his business acumen to take advantage of an available opportunity and he was enormously successful at it. The fact that Frank Lucas was black, poorly educated (in a formal sense), and outside the system makes his achievement all the more remarkable. I have been checking the black and white reactions to this film and have observed a severe black/white divide about the film. No one, black or white, thinks that Frank Lucas did a good thing by selling drugs, but many black viewers recognize that Frank had very few other options open to him in order to make a living - unless someone suggests that he worked as a day laborer in some menial job. Frankly, I think he might do well as a marketing consultant to any major American corporation. The fact that he was selling a pure product to his customers is an indication that he would not cheat them, and for that they should be glad. Think of all the "bad" drugs (poor quality stuff) that have been sold on the streets. Frank at least sold a quality product - which is a lot more than can be said for many of the legitimate companies currently selling drugs to the public

This is my favorite movie.I watched this movie again and again.

Ignoring the racialist nonsense in the threadstaters post, AG is probably the best film I've seen this year.

Great, solid movie like you just mentioned. Haha I love how you related the "bad product" on the streets to the drug companies around the world.

I thought Denzel was amazing and might get an Oscar for this performance. The cast was phenomenal all around and Ridley Scott did a great job as usual. Check out my review for the movie:
http://snmreviews.blogspot.com/2007/11/american-gangster.html