Movie Review The Return Of Superfly - 1457 Words

The film American Gangster was released on November 2nd, 2007 and was directed by Ridley Scott. The movie was based on the book The Return of Superfly by Mark Jacobson. Some of the principle actors in the movie were: Russell Crowe as Detective Richard â€Å"Richie† Roberts, Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas, and Cuba Gooding Jr. as Leroy Nicholas â€Å"Nicky† Barnes. The film is well-known as a mobster film because it based on the true story of Frank Lucas and the drug rings in Harlem. In the film, both the local level individuals (growers or producers of cocaine) and the higher (syndicate) individuals were portrayed. These two groups were in the trade for one reason: money. The lower level producers were primarily based out of countries with extreme poverty; the cocaine business brought in a huge influx of income for the workers. This provided incentive to continue, though the work was hard. The higher-level syndicate individuals received a massive profit off the produc t sales. It allowed them to live comfortable lives and pay off other high ranking individuals for protection. However, there is another reason why these higher-level individuals are in the business. In American Gangster, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) commandeered the market on cocaine with his product Blue Magic. This gave him enormous powers over the streets of Harlem, along with his presence as a philanthropist. Power means money; the more power Lucas had, the more money he made. When Bumpy, the original leader