Every Ridley Scott Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Over his career, Denzel Washington was a frequent collaborator of Ridley Scott's late brother Tony (Unstoppable, Man on Fire, Deja Vu), and so when he turned up in Ridley Scott's biographical crime drama American Gangster, fans were sure they were in store for something special.

Washington stars as real-life gangster Frank Lucas, who ran a drug empire and comes under fire from Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) on the streets on Harlem. What follows is a powerful account of greed, crime and injustice, as Washington and Crowe offer two of their most engrossing performances as two men linked by circumstance and not much else.

Stunning in its execution and featuring a spotless script from Frank Zaillian, American Gangster lacks historical accuracy, but nonetheless works wonders as a gritty re-imagining of Lucas and Roberts and the events surrounding their epic clash.