Movie of the Week: American Gangster

File under: "Good but not great" or "Could have been better"

The performances were great especially Denzel Washington and Josh Brolin but the movie had problems:

• It felt like it was based on a timeline because everything kept jumping around. You would think the entire movie took place in the span of a month.
• I don't think we needed to see Richie Roberts' (Russell Crowe) custody hearing or to be constantly reminded that he was a "good cop" amongst corrupt cops. I think because it was because they wanted Crowe to have as much screen time was Washington. I wonder if the movie would have been different if Benicio Del Toro played Roberts as was originally planned.
• I think it should have ended with Lucas' arrest. The movie was long enough was it was.